


drinking from the river

by Mattecat



Series: Coinverse [4]
Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Trans Character, Trans Female Acronix (Ninjago), Trans Female Character, Trans Female Skylor (Ninjago), Trans Male Character, Trans Male Morro (Ninjago), Warnings May Change, everyone is trans in this one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2019-11-23 06:11:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18148124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mattecat/pseuds/Mattecat
Summary: Morro has a life now. He has a father, a sister, friends, a family. He won't let the Hands of Time take that away. And yet, his past encroaches on his present, the future is uncertain, and his former teacher attempts to make amends.Ninjago Season 7 in the Coinverse AU.





	1. * / Take your soul and you can go far.

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is very close to my heart. it ends the ?? trilogy ?? (do I get to call it a trilogy if it's fanfiction?) that started with _forgetting the coin for the ferryman,_ has themes that are very important to me, and it's just. really fun to write!! i love it!!
> 
> important note: there's a lot of transgender themes in this fic, which will. be obvious once you read this chapter. while I am trans, we all have internalized bigotry to unlearn, I am no exception, and if I do something transphobic or transmisogynistic, or you're worried that I might, please let me know so I can address the problem.
> 
> I'm doing the thing where I name chapters after song lyrics again, this time with credits & links directly to the songs in each chapter, bc they're Good Songs.
> 
> anyway. I've been sitting on 3 full completed chapters of this fic for MONTHS and I am SO glad to be FINALLY posting it. don't expect me to update this every other day, like I was for forgetting the coin – I have a lot of other stuff to work on.
> 
> minor emetophobia warning for this chapter
> 
> OK. that's all. enjoy!

*****

The two figures stand at the foot of the mountain, taking a breather after the travel they took to get there. The monastery is hidden by clouds, and it will be a long journey up. Acronix and Krux aren't tired, but they have to prepare mentally for what lies before them. Their final fight against the elemental masters, after which they will rule over Ninjago. They know they'll win, know that the elemental power of time cannot be overpowered – but they can't afford to take chances. They can't let themselves be distracted.

And Acronix is, certainly, distracted.

"Almost time," Krux mutters, looking up at the sky. "Almost time…"

Acronix takes a deep breath. "Krux?"

Krux looks up. "Yes?"

Now or never, Acronix thinks. "You… love me, right?"

"Of course!" Krux says immediately. "You're my brother! Of course I love you!"

The words feel like a knife to the gut. Acronix swallows hard.

"Will you love me… unconditionally?"

"Always and forever."

Deep breath. Fight down the rising fear.

"Will you love me… as your sister?"

Krux frowns. "I'm… sorry?"

"I…" Acronix's hands are trembling. Why is she so much more afraid of this than fighting the elemental masters? "I don't feel… _right,_ as a man. I… I don't think I am one. A man, I mean." Because when she fights the elemental masters, she has her brother by her side. "I would… I would… much rather be a woman." For this, she has to face the possibility that she will be alone. "I feel… right… when I think of myself as a woman, like – like it was what I was meant to be all along – I – I –"

"Acronix."

She freezes, the confidence drained out of her. She can't find it within herself to look Krux in the eyes – he puts a hand on her chin and moves her head up to face him anyway.

"Acronix," he repeats. "I will love you until the end of time. Never forget that. I will always love who you are – and if who you are is a woman, I will love you as a woman, and as my sister."

Acronix just stares at him, unable to find words.

Krux lets go of her. "Now. We should get moving."

He says it so naturally, like he knew all along. Acronix has heard stories of people who were kicked from their families, disowned, left to survive on their own – the fact that her brother accepts her so quickly, unconditionally, as if he understands…

"I will say, I have a lot of questions for you." Krux shrugs. "But they can wait until after we've won. Are you ready, sister?"

Acronix breaks into a grin.

"Of course!" she says. "I'll race you to the top, brother!"

* * *

**Chapter One**

Far below the shiniest stars,  
Shiniest stars won’t shine forever.  
**Take your soul and you can go far,  
**If you don’t fall from grace or favor.

_[The Presets – Ghosts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di5AT4MI6BY) _

It hurts. It hurts a lot.

Morro wasn't expecting it to hurt this much.

He's lying on the couch, sweating and gasping, chills wracking his body. He's uncomfortably reminded of that day in March, less than a month after he had arrived at the tower – he pushes that thought out of his mind and squeezes the hand grasping his own, turning his head to meet his father's worried gaze.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Cyrus says, and Morro can tell he's breathing fast and hard, can feel the rapid pulse in his hand. "I'm worried – there's very little documentation on this potion, for all we know –"

"I'll be okay," Morro manages to say between gasps. "Never… never expected it to be easy. It's worth it."

"I know, and I trust you, but I… I don't like seeing you like this."

Morro cracks a smile. "Not great being like this, either."

Cyrus shifts his wheelchair a little closer. "You should be close to the end. I've been keeping time, and while there's a very small sample size to go on, most all the data measures it in minutes, as opposed to hours or days."

"That's… good." Morro closes his eyes briefly. His joints are aching and his head is pounding. "How long has it been?"

"It'll have been ten minutes since taking the potion in…" Cyrus checks his watch. "Five seconds." He pauses. "Now."

"How much longer?"

"You're past the shortest time recorded… it's hard to say. If you start feeling nauseous, it should be almost over."

Morro grimaces and tries to make a joke, but sudden nausea overwhelms him and he claps his free hand to his mouth. Cyrus quickly places a plastic bucket in his lap. Morro misses it completely.

When he's done, his head drops back onto the couch. The pain has subsided, somewhat, but his head is spinning and exhaustion is weighing on him. He takes a few more deep breaths, then says, "Check my soul."

"I – I don't know, Morro, it might be too soon –"

"Please, Dad."

Cyrus hesitates, then finally says, "Okay."

He leans over Morro and softly presses his hands against his chest and speaks the incantation – the same words repeated over and over, until the light of the soul is strong enough to show through the body. Pink for a healthy soul. Red for a sick soul. Yellow for a dying soul. For as long as Morro's known the spell, his soul has been green; a cursed soul, doomed to go to the Cursed Realm after death. Not even being brought back to life changed that.

He wonders, sometimes, how Cyrus thought the future would turn out, during those first few days Morro was in his care. Did he even consider this possibility, that he would grow so attached to the resurrected teenager that he would be willing to risk so much for him? To study magic and potionmaking – a fact that would surely cause controversy if it ever was leaked to the public, to say the least – in an attempt to lift the curse on his soul? To allow him to stay, to _want_ him to stay, to call him Morro Sky Borg, his son –

Morro doesn't know what, if anything, he's done to deserve this.

He's so caught up in these thoughts that he almost doesn't notice when Cyrus lifts his hands away. Morro blinks. "Dad –"

"Morro," Cyrus whispers. "Look."

Morro lifts his head back up to look down at his chest

glowing a soft pink

like a healthy soul would

one without a curse

and it's too much, too much for Morro to believe right now, too good to be true, almost – he can feel tears pricking at his eyes, his breaths coming in shudders, and Cyrus is smiling down at him with a crooked grin. He's been hoping for this moment for half a year, now, and now that it's happening – it's too much.

Morro lets his head fall back down and closes his eyes.

* * *

He wakes up some time later, his strength returned enough to go to his room and change out of the clothes he got puke on. Morro wonders if the stains will come out of the couch. He hopes so. He liked that couch.

He does the spell to check his soul again when he's alone, his voice shaking with the incantation. Again, his soul glows pink. Maybe a bit redder than it should be, but Morro isn't going to complain. Not about this.

The next morning, he wakes up again still not believing it. He presses his hands to his chest before he even gets out of bed, repeating the spell. Pink, again. No longer cursed.

He sits up and looks around. His room is a mess, like it's always been. Dirty and clean clothes both are strewn around the room; he sometimes forgets which piles he can wear and which need to be washed. Various bits of trash and paper are littered on the floor. There's a small stack of vinyl records placed haphazardly on his desk, next to his record player. It doesn't seem much different now. He doesn't feel much different.

He's not going to go to the Cursed Realm when he dies.

Not that there's much of a Cursed Realm left, anymore. The Preeminent is still trapped at the bottom of the ocean – still alive, somehow, but without the extra energy she was siphoning from the Temple of Resurrection. A memory surfaces and he cringes – before he was resurrected, he had been there, too. The water destroying his incorporeal form over and over, endless agony, wordless wailing all around him as he reached for the surface and joined his voice to the chorus –

Breathe. He's alive. He's not going back there.

His phone buzzes. When he checks it, he has a few texts from his father.

< Hello! Are you awake?  
< I just wanted to check in :)  
< Please text me when you wake up.

ok >  
im up >

< Excellent! How are you feeling?

good i think >

< I'm almost finished with work. Where do you want to meet?

my room >  
can you bring me breakfast >

< Morro, it's 2PM.  
< But yes.

Morro lies down on the bed again and stares at the ceiling until Cyrus knocks on the door. "Morro? Can I come in?"

"Yeah," Morro says, and the door opens.

Cyrus frowns at the messy floor, as he usually does. "You really need to keep this clean. How am I supposed to come in here if there's no path?"

"It's just trash. You can roll over it."

"Morro, please."

He does end up rolling over the trash, and puts the plate of food on Morro's headboard. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah," Morro says. "I feel… really good, actually."

"I'm so glad, Morro. I'm so, so glad." Cyrus hesitates for a long moment. "There's… some things I wanted to discuss with you, but I'll understand if now isn't the right time."

Morro sits up. "What things?"

"Nothing bad, necessarily, I just…" Cyrus smiles at him. "We've been trying to lift your curse for so long… how do you feel now that it's done?"

"I told you, I feel good. Really good." Morro pauses. "I feel like… almost like it's not real. I keep –" He puts his hands to his chest. "– doing the spell, over and over, because – I can't believe it, almost. I don't know how to explain."

"I think I understand. Not completely, of course, but…" Cyrus looks distant, for a moment. "A similar experience might be if I were to wake up and find that all the damage the Overlord did to my body was gone."

Morro doesn't know what to say to that.

"…sorry," Cyrus says sheepishly. "That probably wasn't… appropriate of me."

"It's alright," Morro says. "It's a lot to wrap my head around. I've been cursed for years and years, and to think that I'm not anymore…"

Cyrus nods and takes a deep breath. "I wanted to discuss your future, Morro."

Morro blinks. "What?"

"Your future. We haven't talked about it, much." Cyrus looks him in the eye. "You're going to be eighteen, soon. That's a fairly big milestone, in our society! I was wondering… do you have any idea what you want to do?"

Morro slowly shakes his head.

"I thought that might be the case. Do you mind if I offer some possibilities?"

"Like what?"

"You could go to school. College, maybe. There's a number of programs out there for whatever you'd want to learn."

Morro has read about college, but the idea of going – his hands are shaking. His breaths are coming out in gasps. His father notices, of course.

"Are you alright?" he asks, and he brings his wheelchair closer. "Sorry, this is a bit much, isn't it?"

Morro swallows hard. "I don't know if I could," he whispers. "I feel like… like I'm stuck, doing the same things over and over. I don't – I don't –"

Cyrus puts a hand on his back. "You're not stuck," he says. "I understand how it would feel like – you were stuck for a long time. But you're alive, and you're – you're not cursed anymore, Morro. You have infinite possibilities before you."

"It's…" It's too much. "I don't…"

"How about this. Get some food in you, and we'll talk about this when you're feeling up to it. Maybe talk about it with your friends?"

Skylor might have some advice. She's older than he is, and she's always willing to listen. She's also his only real option; his only other friend is Ronin, and Morro isn't sure a thief running a pawn shop will have any good advice about his future. "Okay."

Cyrus smiles. "Unfortunately, I have to get back to work. I postponed some meetings on short notice to make sure you were feeling alright, and I have some annoyed investors scheduled to meet with me. Text me if you need anything, alright?"

"Okay."

Before Cyrus reaches the door, Morro blurts out, "I love you, Dad."

Cyrus looks back at him with his crooked grin. "I love you too, Morro. I'm so glad this chapter of our lives is over."

Morro smiles. "Yeah."

"Oh! I almost forgot – I want you to be at the BorgWatch reveal tonight!"

Morro's smile vanishes. "Dad, I don't think –"

Cyrus interrupts him. "I don't want to hear any arguments. You are my son, Morro. Pixal said she would make an appearance, and I don't want to only have one of my children there."

"But –"

"I have no time to spare for you to argue with me. Rest up! Eat something that's not pure sugar!"

" _Dad_ –"

Cyrus leaves without letting Morro get a word in. Morro groans and falls backwards on the bed again. Maybe he can fake some horrible illness that keeps him in his room for the night.

* * *

Ronin finishes counting the cash and locks the register. Morro didn't show up to work, but Ronin isn't too worried – it's not the first time the kid's missed a shift, and Ronin can't be assed to care when he's not paying him. He sends a quick text and heads to his next job; helping the ninja move into their new base.

Before he leaves, he stops in the bathroom and stares at himself in the mirror. He looks tired, Ronin thinks. He's been having messed up dreams lately. He sighs.

He has asked Morro about his debt just once.

"Soul Archer still gonna be after me to pay up?" he had asked. Even the memory of saying his name is enough to make Ronin shudder. He had managed to hide his fear well enough as he waited for Morro's response.

"Probably not," was what Morro said. "Unless the Preeminent gets another source of energy, he's stuck at the bottom of the ocean with her. He can't escape. None of them can."

"But people with cursed souls –"

Morro flinched. "Yeah," he snapped, "I'm going to be there, too, when I die. We've been over this."

Ronin, because he's an asshole, had given Morro a hard pat on the back and told him to be careful crossing the street. Morro didn't speak to him for the rest of the day.

Now, Ronin puts his hands to his chest and recites the spell.

His soul glows green, like it has since the day he lost the bet.

Ronin doesn't know what he expected to see. His curse would've been somehow lifted now that the Preeminent was half-drowned? Soul Archer sure as hell hadn't done anything to lift it. Ronin still has a debt to pay, except now he has no way to pay it.

He shakes his head and leaves. Misako is expecting him soon.

All he has to do for now is look both ways before crossing the street.

* * *

"Dad?"

Garmadon slowly wakes up at the sound of his son's voice, sees Lloyd's green eyes peering at him in worry. "Lloyd?" he says. "Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing, I just…" Lloyd's eyes flick to the side. "You fell asleep."

It takes a few more moments for Garmadon to fully wake up and realize the situation. He was having dinner with Lloyd, Misako, and Wu… and he fell asleep at the table. No wonder Lloyd was worried. He can see Misako staring at him, too, her brow furrowed with concern.

He tries to laugh it off. Neither of them laugh with him, but they return to eating once he picks up his own fork.

When he's finished, he looks around at the table. "Where's Wu?" he asks. "I thought he was supposed to eat with us."

"Oh," Misako says. "He must have left shortly after you dozed off. He had to excuse himself, said he had somewhere to be."

Garmadon frowns. He can't help but feel that he's forgetting something, a feeling he's all too familiar with, these days. "Did he say anything about where he was going?"

"Just that he needed to do something that could not be put off until tomorrow." Misako shrugs. "You know how your brother is. He said he would be home late."

Something isn't right. He's forgetting something important. But try as he might, Garmadon can't remember what it is. "Let me know when he gets back."

After dinner, Lloyd has to meet up with the rest of the ninja at the museum. Before he leaves, he helps Garmadon back to bed. Garmadon is acutely aware of his aged hands in Lloyd's youthful ones, can feel the contrast as he hobbles back to his room.

"I'll be fine from here," Garmadon says, once they've reached the room. "I'm sure the others are waiting for you."

"I'm sorry," Lloyd mumbles.

"Hm? What for?"

Lloyd looks away. "If – if I had known you were down there – I could've done something sooner, and then maybe you wouldn't – you wouldn't be –"

"Lloyd."

Garmadon lowers himself to a sitting position on the bed and pats the spot beside him. Lloyd hesitates, then sits down next to him.

"Lloyd," Garmadon says softly. "You know I don't blame you. You had no way of knowing where I was after I was resurrected. Not even the scholars knew. And I'm certainly not angry at you for resurrecting me."

"But –" Lloyd takes a deep, shuddering breath. "You were down there for so long, and I – I didn't know, I didn't do anything, and – I can't help but think, if I hadn't –"

"Oh, Lloyd…" Garmadon puts an arm around his son's shoulders. "Lloyd… if you hadn't resurrected me, I would've still been there."

Lloyd stiffens. "What – what do you mean?"

"Did you not know? When someone dies in the Cursed Realm – they stay there." Garmadon remembers, his ghost trapped underwater, wailing in agony – he lets that memory go. "You saved me, Lloyd. Don't ever think that you didn't."

"I –" Lloyd is trembling now. "I – I didn't know, I –"

Garmadon hugs him to his chest, and Lloyd breaks down in sobs.

* * *

In the ruins of his old monastery, the sensei watches the hands of the clock tick ever closer.

In the lobby of his museum, the director watches the Borg Industries blimp make its slow circles above Ninjago.

High in the sky, a time vortex rips open.

The forty year wait is over.


	2. Before the past is done repeating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey here's chapter 2
> 
> no warnings? there's a fight scene here, but that's all. a percentage of the dialogue was lifted straight from the show, so if it sounds familiar, that's why.

**Chapter Two**

I'm not the only one who's bleeding,  
**Before the past is done repeating.  
** Gets underneath my skin, it won't die.  
This time if I can't win…

[The Birthday Massacre – Science](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrQ1vq_Osaw)

The world crackles, the void splits itself open. Acronix tumbles down and down and lands in the center of the ruins. She doesn't recognize them at first – but there, those are the walls she was just inside, broken and crumbled. She knows time, even without her powers. She knows she must be in the future.

"Right on time."

She looks at the old man sitting with his hat over his face. The voice is familiar, but even knowing she's in the future, the sight of the sensei with the long white beard, the wrinkled skin…

"Sensei Wu?" she says. "You look… old."

"I've had forty years to prepare for this," Wu says. He closes his pocketwatch and stands up. "Where's your brother?"

"We were separated," Acronix says without thinking, then shakes her head and glares. "Why should I tell you?" she snaps, and she drops into a fighting stance. "You may have had forty years to prepare, but your best days have long passed you by, _old man._ "

Wu sighs. "Very well then," he says, raising his staff. "Shall we finish what we've started?"

Acronix reaches for the sword on her back, and they step in slow circles around each other. Acronix growls under her breath.

"You might as well give up, Wu," she says. "I'm the superior fighter, and your brother isn't here to bail you out!"

"No," says Wu. "But neither is yours."

Acronix grits her teeth. "And whose fault is that?"

"You and Krux made the choice to chase the timeblades. Garmadon and I did what we had to do to protect Ninjago."

"And I will do…"

Acronix grasps the sword.

"…what I have to do!"

With those words, Acronix lunges forward.

* * *

"Where do you want this one, Misako?" Ronin can't see anything past the box he's carrying as he stumbles forward into the temple.

"Anywhere you can find room," Misako says. "How about here?"

Ronin drops the box in front of her. "Damn," he mutters. "Three hundred boxes all airlifted up to this floating island…" He gives a pointed look to the man sitting on top of a pile of boxes eating chips. "…and you didn't carry a single one of them!"

"Don't be rude, Ronin," Misako chides. "You and Dareth were both a great help."

"I told ya," Dareth says, "I got a bad back. Besides, this unpacking isn't gonna supervise itself."

Misako opens the first box. "Oh!" she says. "This came to the wrong place."

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me," Ronin says, as Misako takes out Nya's Samurai X helmet. "I carried stuff in that didn't even need to be carried in? You better be paying me for this."

"Misako!"

The three of them turn to the source of the voice. Garmadon is leaning against the doorframe, breathing hard. "I just remembered –" he says, and cuts himself off with a coughing fit.

"Garmadon!" Misako drops the helmet and runs to him. "Are you alright? You should rest, you're not as young as you used to be."

"Misako, I just remembered – where is Lloyd?"

"He went to the museum. He's helping the rest of the ninja clean up after the Day of the Departed. Are you alright?"

"I'm old, not sick," Garmadon says, and he straightens up. "Misako, you must tell the ninja to go to the monastery. It's been forty years. There's unfinished business – Wu is going to need my help, I –"

Misako supports him as he tries to take a step forward. "You're overexerting yourself," she says softly. "Rest. I'll call the ninja."

"Should we go?" Ronin whispers loudly to Dareth. Misako blinks.

"Yes," she calls back. "Thank you for your help, but I'm sure you are both have things to do. The ninja can do the rest of the unpacking."

"Alright!" Dareth jumps down from the boxes. "The BorgWatch reveal is tonight! I gotta get in line!"

"Huh," Ronin says. "I might stop by there, too. Make fun of my free labor, if nothing else." He eyes the Samurai X armor. "Hey, let Nya know that if she's interested in selling that, I can connect her with some interested clients… for a small fee."

He leaves without looking back at Garmadon and Misako.

* * *

"Arrogant to the finish," Wu says. "Just like your brother."

"Arrogant?" Acronix picks herself up, balancing on the old beams of the monastery. "No… confident!"

She throws herself at Wu, who kicks and flips her over his head, sending her tumbling to the edge of the ruins. In her struggle to balance on the poles, Acronix drops her sword, and it falls down, down, past the edge of the cliff, into the clouds below.

Wu grabs her cape and yanks her back, keeping her precariously leaning over the ledge. "Do you yield?"

"No!" Acronix says immediately.

The next moment, Wu lets go of her cape, and she's falling forward. A scream leaves her throat just as Wu grabs her cape again.

"I will ask again. Do you yield?"

"I hate you!" Acronix yells.

"Acronix, _do you yield?_ "

Acronix looks down at the abyss below, and the strength starts to leave her.

"I… yield."

Another portal crackles open in the sky.

* * *

Lloyd disappears barely half an hour after he arrives, walking outside when his mom calls him. 

"What's up with him?" Jay asks.

"Dunno," Kai says, "but here's the deal: all of us are going to pick a straw. Whoever draws the short straw has to get Morro to return the clothes he stole on the Day of the Departed."

"I can get Skylor to do it," Nya says.

"Sure, but is that any fun? C'mon –"

"I'm going to be seeing him tonight," Zane says. "Borg has asked Pixal to come to the BorgWatch reveal."

"Really?" Kai sighs. "Did I cut up these straws for nothing?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to help clean up?" Cole demands, pushing a wheelbarrow full of mannequin skeletons. "Or are you gonna stand there while me and Jay do all the – gah!"

His hands glow orange, and the wheelbarrow's handles deform under his grip. He drops it, and the mannequins scatter across the floor.

Kai snickers. "Are you still not used to having a solid body? Come on, it's been like, three days since the Day of the Departed!"

Nya frowns. "I mean, that's not much time…"

"It's not my body," Cole says. "It's my hands! They keep doing this glowing thing, and I dunno what it's about."

"Hands are part of your body," Zane comments.

"Whatever! Are you gonna help or not?"

"Indeed, indeed!"

The ninja all jump as Dr. Saunders walks into the room. "The cleaning up will go much faster with more people, no?" he says. "I would like to have it done before tonight; I am a busy man and I have family visiting soon!"

Kai, Zane, and Nya quickly join Cole and Jay in cleaning up. Saunders observes them for a few moments, then walks back to his office.

"You think he's been acting weird lately?" Kai says.

"Nah," says Jay. "Same crotchety old man as usual."

"I don't detect any significant change from his usual mannerisms," Zane says. "He could be stressed about his family visiting."

"I guess," Kai mumbles. Nya shoots him a concerned look.

Lloyd rushes back in. "Guys!" he shouts. "We need to get back to the Bounty! Wu needs our help!"

"What?!" Cole shouts, dropping the wheelbarrow. "Then we need to get –"

* * *

"– huh?"

One moment, Morro is sitting in the cafeteria, finishing his food. The next, he's halfway down the hall to Cyrus' room, and he halts midstep, looking around in confusion.

"The hell?" he says out loud. He had intended to come here after he was done eating, but that doesn't explain how he _got_ here.

"Oh my goodness!" Cyrus bursts out of his room, staring at his watch and nearly running over Morro in his haste. "Oh, Morro, you're here – did you feel that?"

"Yes," says Morro. "What was it?"

"A temporal energy fluctuation! The BorgWatch caught it!" Cyrus grins at him. "I could actually trace the burst to its source, if I wasn't already so busy – but still, the possibility, the idea that I could is exciting!"

Morro frowns. "Does this happen often?"

"Oh, no, not at all. It's not unheard of, but certainly not common. And on such a scale! Incredible!"

"Should we tell someone about it?"

"I guarantee you, those in a position to determine if there's a problem have surely noticed. There's nothing to worry about, Morro."

Morro shrugs. "If you say so."

"I do say so!" Cyrus laughs. "Now get in here, I've picked you an outfit for tonight, and – actually, Morro, I'm sorry to say this, but take a shower, your hair is disgusting."

"I took one two days ago!" Morro protests.

"You mean you didn't take one immediately after throwing up on yourself?" Cyrus wrinkles his nose. "Go take a shower. Do that before you put these clothes on."

"But –"

"Now, Morro."

Morro groans. "Maybe it would be better if you were less of a dad, sometimes," he snaps.

Cyrus seems to find this hilarious, judging by him doubled over in his wheelchair laughing. Morro glares at him and storms away.

* * *

Acronix finds herself safely away from the ledge, the timeblade in front of her crackling with a familiar energy – she wrenches out of Wu's grip and grabs it, feeling the power course through her. In the rush, she snatches Wu's pocketwatch from him, just to prove she can.

"Looks like I've got my second wind!" she says. "Ready for another round?"

Wu says nothing, just grips his staff and keeps his expression hard. Acronix laughs and charges forward.

The timeblade hits the staff with a crackle. Wu drops back and readies his stance. Acronix strikes again, and is blocked again. She takes a few steps back, eyeing Wu carefully. He doesn't make a move, just waits for her next attack.

He doesn't wait long. Acronix keeps him moving, striking over and over and pushing him back farther and farther – until he acts with a sudden motion, the staff slamming into her chest with a force that has her falling flat on her back.

Wu steps forward as she picks herself off the ground. "Put the timeblade down, Acronix."

"No!"

"It's over," he says. "The people of Ninjago have forgotten you. The twin brothers of time are nothing more than an obscure myth."

She grits her teeth. "Ninjago will know us once more," she says. "And they will know me as Krux's _sister,_ or they won't know me at all!"

She raises the timeblade high and feels the power that was stolen from her course through her once more.

Wu begins the motions to strike.

Acronix appears behind him in the span of a second and slams her elbow into his back, sending him stumbling forward. "Do you remember what Krux and I said, forty years ago?" she says, stepping forward as Wu turns to face her.

"Of course," says Wu. "Control time, control everything."

"That's right!" Acronix brandishes the timeblade. "But we said much more to each other, did you know?"

She skips forward a few beats, and she's beside Wu again – she slams the flat of her timeblade into his side.

The energy crackles, and Wu is sent flying, green energy working its way through his body. Acronix grins.

"You'll be feeling that one for times to come!" she says, walking forward. "I'll call it… a time punch!" Wu struggles to pick himself off the ground – is he still trying to fight? "And it's effects are devastating." 

"I…" Wu has real fear in his eyes. Good. "I made a mistake," he says. "I should've… I should've…"

"You should _never_ have challenged me," Acronix says. "Not forty years ago, and not now! Oh, but don't worry –" She stops just in front of Wu, raising the timeblade. "I can be merciful. Just one more charge, one more time punch, and it'll be over before you even know it!"

Wu narrows his eyes and with a sudden motion, jabs his staff into her gut. For a moment, she's doubled over in pain, and before she can recover she sees the golden energy of his spinjitzu technique.

She lands hard on her back on the other side of the ruins. The timeblade slips out of her grip. Acronix jumps to her feet and reaches for where it's fallen.

She didn't expect Wu to reach her as fast as he does – Acronix barely catches his staff in her hands, and the impact sends pain shooting down her arms. She grimaces and flips him up, over –

– and tumbling down the cliff.

Once she's picked up the timeblade and looked down, Wu is dangling from a branch, flailing for a foothold. Acronix laughs.

"You know," she says, "it was at the foot of the mountain that I _finally_ had the courage to tell my brother who I really was – his sister, and a woman." Her expression hardens. "I don't know where Krux is now, but I will stop at _nothing_ to find him, and reclaim what you and _your_ brother stole from us! So farewell, Sensei – I won't be staying to see you off."

With one last wave, Acronix walks away.

High in the sky, a ship comes into view.

* * *

"There's someone down there," Zane says. "It's not Wu, that's for sure."

"Cool," says Jay. "I'm gonna go down and talk to them."

"Dude," says Cole.

Jay is already walking to the anchor and jumping on it, letting it carry him down to the ground. Lloyd rolls his eyes. "Classic Jay," he says. "Let's see what happens."

The rest of the ninja watch as Jay approaches the hooded figure. "I can't hear them," Kai says. "Zane, you've got like, super nindroid hearing, right?"

"In a sense." Zane frowns. "Jay is asking if this person has seen someone of Wu's description."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Nya says from the control room. "What if this is a bad guy?"

Zane keeps an eye on the two figures below them. "They say they haven't seen him, and Jay says…"

"Jay just pulled his nunchucks!" Lloyd says in alarm. "Nya, get us down there!"

"There's not enough room to land!" Nya shouts back.

"It's just one guy!" Cole says. "I'm sure Jay can handle…" He hesitates. "…whoever this is."

Zane's frown deepens. "Pixal, run a scan."

His vision zooms in on the figure, and once he makes out the details, the scan proves unnecessary – he recognizes the outfit from a painting Saunders had shown them in the museum. Pixal merely confirms it.

"Acronix!" he says.

"What?!" Kai yelps. "Like, Acronix and Krux? From that painting?"

"But Dr. Saunders said they were only a myth!" says Cole.

As Zane watches, Jay lunges forward. Acronix raises the timeblade and vanishes.

"We have to get down there," Zane says. "Now!"

* * *

While he's still confused, Acronix hits the blue ninja in the back with the flat of the blade – no time punch, not for this. This is just a misguided boy, probably one of Sensei Wu's students. "I have no quarrel with you," she tells him while he's picking himself off the ground. "Stop now, and I'll let you leave in peace."

"Uh, you mean, give up?" The boy stands up and glares at her. "No way!"

Lightning sparks between his hands.

Acronix's eyes widen.

 _The Serpentine War is over. Acronix and Krux are celebrating with the rest, laughing and sharing drinks. Acronix has found herself at a table with the women – the_ other _woman, she reminds herself, because she's trying to think of herself as a woman, now, even if she hasn't told anyone._

_"I told you," Sable is saying as Libber tries to offer her another drink. "I can't have alcohol."_

_"Aw, c'mon!" Libber whines, leaning on her boyfriend. What was his name? Gordon? "We just won a war, and I'm engaged! We should celebrate!"_

_Acronix laughs with the rest and takes a drink – and nearly spits it back into her glass when Sable says, "I'm_ pregnant, _Libber."_

_Sable looks more annoyed than anything else, rolling her eyes as Libber spills the glass on herself. "What?!" she yelps. "Already?! The war like, just ended!"_

_"It's the first trimester," Sable says. "I wasn't going to announce it until I was further along."_

_"Who's the dad?" Libber's boyfriend –_ fiancé _– asks. "I, uh, didn't know you were dating anyone…"_

_"I'm not. The father is a good friend of mine." Sable sighs. "I honestly don't have much of an interest in dating, but I did want to pass down the Element of Shadow to the next generation…"_

_"That's bullshit," says Libber. "I mean – sorry, what I mean is that having to pass down our powers is bullshit. I'm never having a kid."_

_Gordon looks down at her with one eyebrow raised. "Never?"_

_Libber groans and presses her face into his chest. "We've talked about this, babe. I'm not gonna have a kid. We can_ maybe _adopt if you want a kid that bad – but I'm not giving up this spark!"_

_She sends a jolt of electricity through Gordon, who yelps. Acronix laughs. Even Sable cracks a smile at the sight of Gordon's hair standing on end, and eventually, Gordon laughs with them._

Acronix snaps herself out of it. "I see a lot of things have changed since I was last in Ninjago," she says. "People, places… Elemental Masters…"

"So?" the boy says, this new Master of Lightning. "Whatever! Are you gonna tell us where Wu is?"

How quickly Libber had thrown away their friendship –

"A few seconds ago, I said I had no quarrel with you." Acronix approaches with the timeblade. "I've changed my mind!"

"Watch out, Jay!"

Acronix jumps back as another ninja lands between them, his hands glowing molten orange. The boy – Jay – groans. "Come on, Cole! I had this in the bag!"

"Sure you did," says Cole, rolling his eyes.

More ninja land on the ground, dropping into fighting stances almost immediately. Acronix eyes them, sees how they hold their bodies. More of Wu's students, certainly. Are they all elemental masters?

One of them reveals his element, his hand lighting up with fire. Acronix smirks. "Master of Fire, huh?" she says. "I've fought one of you before!"

The boy falters, his flame sputtering. "You knew my father?"

"Focus, Kai!" The ninja dressed in green steps forward, his hands glowing with… hm. That's definitely some sort of power, but it's not lightning, and it's not any other element Acronix knows of.

She tilts her head. "I haven't fought one of you. What's your power?"

"I'm Lloyd Garmadon, the Green Ninja," he snaps. "And I've taken down way worse than you!"

"The Green Ninja!" Acronix says, remembering a student Wu used to have. "The real one this time?"

His eyes widen and his power flickers. He doesn't respond.

"Enough!" Acronix lays her eyes on the next person to speak, a girl who bears quite a similarity to the new Master of Fire. Acronix thinks back to how close Maya and Ray were. "We get it, you're from forty years ago, you knew our parents and a bunch of other people who were alive back then. All that means is that you don't know what we're capable of!"

"Nya's right," says the final ninja, with a tinny voice and metal skin – is this the Master of Metal? "Come on, everyone!"

"Ninja-GO!" they yell in unison, and they light up with their spinjitzu techniques. Acronix skips forward a few seconds and moves out of their way, watching them tumble into each other and fall in a heap.

"I might not know for certain what you're capable of," she says, "but I think I have a pretty good idea."

"Rude!" Jay says.

Kai stands back up. "So you're fast, huh?" he says, igniting his hand once more. "Faster than… this?!"

He sends a fireball hurling towards her. She sidesteps it and it explodes in the old wood.

"Shit," Kai says.

"Great job!" says Cole.

Acronix cackles and uses her powers to jump to the top of the burning ruins. "Oh, ninja!" she says. "Can you catch me up here?"

Lloyd shakes his head. "Jay, Cole, Kai! We need to take care of Acronix! Nya, Zane – you put out this fire!"

"Affirmative," says the metal ninja, and he joins Nya in suppressing the flames with – oh, is that ice? So he's not the Master of Metal. Huh.

Acronix focuses her attention on Cole, who's the first in joining her on top of the ruins. "You haven't seen everything we're capable of!" he says, and his hands glow orange again. "Take _this!_ "

He leaps forward. Acronix dodges easily and his punch crashes through an old board, where his hand gets stuck.

"How clumsy!" she says. "Are you capable of embarrassing yourself in any other ways?"

"One! Two! Three!"

Jay, Kai, and Lloyd jump up and fire streams of electricity, fire, and green energy at her. Acronix runs out of the way. It's getting hot, she realizes. Her armor is starting to burn her skin.

"Keep him moving, guys!" Lloyd shouts. "He'll have to surrender, or else the flames will get him!"

Acronix flinches at the misgendering and stops running, shielding herself with the timeblade. The elemental powers nearly send her stumbling back when they hit – she grits her teeth and holds her arm steady, watching the timeblade glow brighter and brighter –

"It's gonna blow!" Jay yelps.

– until a shockwave blasts out from it, sending the ninja flying.

After the timeskip, Acronix takes a moment to steady herself on the stairs, then starts walking, leaving the monastery behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a quick note: i understand that there might be concern about having the only trans woman in the fic so far be a villain, so I wanted to address that, because I've been concerned about it myself.
> 
> basically, I plan on giving acronix (and krux!) much more development than they had in the show, and make them much more sympathetic characters. I can't say whether acronix will stay a villain (no spoilers), which is why skylor is here, too; so even if acronix stays a villain, she won't be the Only trans woman representation. it's just that right now, skylor hasn't shown up, and I'm trying not to post every chapter one after the other (I'm up to 4-5 completed chapters now lol).
> 
> if you have any concerns about the trans representation in this fic, PLEASE let me know; my contact information is in my profile, if you don't want to comment here on ao3. I've been worried about it bc I really want to get it right.


	3. I’ll never leave, or if I do I’ll come back relatively, relatively soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like the posting every other day schedule!! I mean I might change my mind in a week when I've run out of finished chapters to post, but until then, here's chapter!

**Chapter Three**

There's only one thing that you can be sure of,  
**I’ll never leave, or if I do I’ll come back relatively, relatively soon.**

_[Faded Paper Figures – Relatively](https://fadedpaperfigures.bandcamp.com/track/relatively) _

The ninja find Wu dangling from a branch above a dizzying drop. Together, they pull him back up to solid ground, and they all take deep breaths.

"The monastery's on fire again," Kai says. "Sorry."

"I heard," says Wu. "Don't worry about it, my student. Thank you for coming to rescue me."

"We wouldn't have known if my dad hadn't told us!" Lloyd says. "You could've died! Why didn't you tell us Acronix was going to show up here?!"

"I promise, I will tell you everything…" Wu stands up and winces. Cole catches him before he falls over. "…later. Let's return to the temple. I need time to recover."

* * *

Back at the old Temple of Airjitzu, Nya calls Skylor. Lloyd catches part of the conversation. "Hey, Skylor, I really hate to ask, but I know your dad kept files on a lot of the elemental masters, and we just fought a Master of Time…"

"Is Sensei alright?" Lloyd asks Zane, who's standing beside Wu while Misako gives him tea.

"You can ask me directly, you know." Wu takes a gulp of his tea. "I'm fine, Lloyd, just… tired."

"Sip it!" Misako chides. "Healing tea won't work on a burnt tongue!"

"Are you certain, brother?" Garmadon says, leaning against the wall. He doesn't look happy, Lloyd thinks. "You know what Acronix and Krux were capable of. If he even had just one of his powers…"

"She," Wu corrects.

Lloyd blinks. "What?"

Wu takes another long drink of his tea. "During our fight, Acronix told me that she was Krux's sister, and a woman. If she truly is gone now… I would like to give her that respect."

Garmadon sighs. "I understand," he says, "but don't avoid my question. Acronix regained one of her powers when she fought you. Are you certain you're just tired, Wu?"

"Yes, Garmadon, I am."

Misako gives him a worried look.

Nya walks back into the room. "Skylor says she's never heard of a Master of Time," she says, "but that the museum might have something – but I think we've found all we can at the museum. Saunders thinks the Hands of Time are a myth."

"That's what we let the world believe, yes." Wu sighs. "But no, the Hands of Time were real."

"I thought there could only be one master of each element," Kai says. "What happened there?"

"Originally, there was only one Master of Time, but when she had twins, the element was split between them. So though Acronix and Krux were both Masters of Time, their powers were different." Wu puts his empty mug aside. "Misako, could I…?"

"More tea?" Misako says. "Only if you sip it this time!"

She leaves the room. Wu waits a moment, then continues.

"Once, the Masters of Time were our allies," he says. "They fought with Garmadon and I in the Serpentine War. After the war, however… Acronix and Krux were unsatisfied with their place in the world. They thought their powers were superior, and that they deserved to rule over Ninjago."

"Acronix said she knew our parents," Kai says, nodding at Nya. "Is that true?"

"Yes. Ray, the Master of Fire, and Maya, the Master of Water, were one of the ones to fight against the Hands of Time when they turned against the other elemental masters." Wu takes the refilled mug from Misako and continues. "They fought bravely, but even against so many of the other masters… the power of time was too strong."

"So what happened?" Cole asks. "I mean, you beat them, right?"

Garmadon speaks up. "Wu and I made plans to strip Acronix and Krux of their powers," he says. "We had four blades forged from Chronosteel, the only material that can absorb elemental powers. When they came to the monastery to challenge us for the final time, the timeblades absorbed their powers, and left the Hands of Time as ordinary people, easily restrained by the others."

"Garmadon and I knew the timeblades were too dangerous to keep," says Wu. "We opened a time portal, and sent them inside. But Acronix and Krux thought they were more powerful than time itself." He takes another gulp of tea. "They followed the timeblades, and Acronix was sent forty years into the future – to today."

"So what does this mean?" Nya asks. "If Acronix came back, will Krux come back, too?"

"Doubtful," says Wu. "I knew Acronix would return today. I saw no sign of when Krux would return, or if he ever would. I believe he is lost in time for good."

"But you didn't know the timeblades would reappear, now did you?" Garmadon says. "We need to keep watch. I heard Borg's new technology can track temporal energy – we should ask him to keep a watch for anything of note."

"I mean, it probably doesn't matter," Jay says. "Acronix is kind of super dead now."

Kai looks down at his hands. "Uh, does that make us murderers?"

"We weren't trying to kill her!" Lloyd says immediately. "It's not our fault the timeblade exploded! That's on her!"

"Be respectful," Wu says.

"Seriously?" Jay says. "She tried to kill you! Probably wanted to kill the rest of us, too!" He crosses his arms. "And there's no way that blast didn't kill her – so if Acronix is gone, and Krux is lost, then that's it! No more Hands of Time, no more problem!"

* * *

The city is big. Acronix wanders for a long time, garnering many strange looks as she _ooh_ s and _aah_ s at the gadgets in the windows. Someone tells her she has a good cosplay. "What's cosplay?" she asks, but the person is already gone.

It takes a while for her to realize she should look for her brother.

It's not an easy realization. The task seems hopeless; Krux could be anywhere – any _when,_ even, because Krux had tried to follow the blade with his reversal powers, and Acronix had lost sight of him, and the next thing she knew, she had landed forty years in the future. Where would her brother have landed? Years ago? Years ahead?

Acronix sees a sign for a history museum and decides she should check there for clues.

When she pushes the door open, she hears an oddly pitched voice coming from what appears to be an office. "Sorry to disappoint, but we close early today. Come back tomorrow to –"

An old man with a long gray mustache and spectacles walks out and freezes, staring right at Acronix. Not knowing what to expect, Acronix readies the timeblade, because if this man wants a fight, a fight he's going to get.

" _Acronix?_ " the man says in Krux's voice.

Now it's Acronix's turn to freeze. "Krux?"

The man glances around and rushes past her to lock the doors. "Get in here," he hisses, and he grabs Acronix by her cape and drags her into the office. Acronix is still reeling from hearing her brother's voice in this strange new Ninjago, that she barely comprehends that if this old man is her brother –

The man slams the door, then pauses. "We shouldn't be bothered in here," he says, and he turns to Acronix and takes off his glasses and fake mustache.

Acronix's eyes widen. "Krux!" she says. "You look… old!"

Krux grins, and despite his age, Acronix can tell that it's really him. "It's been a long while, Acronix," he says. "I've been waiting for this moment for forty years."

"I just got here," Acronix says. "Forty years… I…"

Her voice catches. She just saw Krux – the battle was mere hours ago, it seems, and now her brother has aged  _forty years._ She can't help but think of the time they've lost – the time Wu and Garmadon have taken from them. She clenches the timeblade in a hand trembling with rage.

Then Krux pulls her into a hug.

"Yes," he says. "I've been a long time waiting – but it was worth every moment, seeing you now. Remember, I will love you forever, unconditionally, my dear sister."

Acronix smiles and hugs him back. "You remembered," she says.

"I would never forget. That conversation was the last time I spoke to you. I did my best to remember every detail."

Acronix nods into his shoulder, too emotional to speak.

This new future might not feel like home – but anywhere with Krux is home enough for her.

* * *

Morro runs a comb through his wet hair while he sits in the office, picking at the collar of the shirt Cyrus chose for him. "Where's Pixal?" he asks, glancing over at his father, who is frowning at his phone.

"She told me she might be late," Cyrus says. "Apparently there was ninja business. She's hoping she can still make it, but it's not certain… ah, well. She told me some of the details, I can relay them if you're interested."

Morro has to think about it for a moment. "Sure," he says. "What happened?"

"Are you familiar with the myth of the Hands of Time?"

"The what?"

"I see. The Hands of Time were twins with the elemental power of time. They were thought to be a myth, but Pixal has informed me that one of them, Acronix, fell out of a time portal, and fought Wu at the old monastery. That must have been what caused the temporal fluctuation, earlier."

He doesn't sound nearly as excited about the temporal fluctuation as he had been. Morro figures it's because he's disappointed Pixal might not show up. Morro doesn't know how to feel about that, himself; Pixal is his sister, now, but they've barely talked. They _can't_ talk without Zane being there, and Morro is pretty sure he knows how the ninja feel about him – willing to allow him to change and become a better person, under the conditions that he does it far away from them.

He shouldn't dwell on that. Morro shakes his head. "I think I've met them," he says. "The Hands of Time. They didn't call themselves that then, but…"

Cyrus looks up. "Met them? When? I mean, ah…"

Morro cracks a smile. "It was after I left Wu, so over fifty years ago," he says. "They lived in some dump of a village. I asked them if they knew where the tomb was. They had no idea, obviously." He puts the comb down and leans back in the chair. "They were… around my age now, so a little older than me, then. The younger one – I mean, they were twins, but one of them seemed younger, I guess – was really excited to meet another elemental master. I dunno, I don't remember them well. Their mother… she asked me if I was a friend of Wu, and when I told her no, she said, 'Good.'"

Their mother was a tall, dark woman, with black hair she kept in small, tight braids. She had reminded Morro of Wu, a little bit, with how stern she was towards her children. He didn't like her, much, and he was quick to leave once it was clear she didn't know where the tomb was.

"So they fought Wu?" he asks.

Cyrus blinks. "Apparently there was a conflict between the Hands of Time and the other elemental masters, after the Serpentine War was over," he says. "They wanted to take over Ninjago, and… well, Pixal didn't tell me everything. They were defeated, and there was something to do with a time portal, and Acronix was transported forty years into the future while Krux was lost in time."

"What happened to Acronix, now?"

"Pixal is under the impression Acronix is not a problem anymore."

Morro thinks about this for a few moments. "Alright," he says. "So why can't she come?"

"She still might come, it's just… Wu was injured during the fight, and is still recovering. The ninja might need her and Zane to stay, for the time being."

"Alright."

They're quiet for a few long moments. Morro yawns. "Is it almost time yet?" he asks.

"Pixal has a few more hours to make her decision, though for us, it might be good to head to the store now, since –" Cyrus cuts himself off. "Morro, why aren't you wearing the shoes I got for you?"

"They hurt my feet."

"You can't wear those sneakers."

"No one's going to look at my feet."

"You should've thrown them out months ago. Why are you still wearing them?"

"They're mine."

"Morro, please. At least put on the new ones."

"Fine." He can tell Cyrus is stressed out, and Morro isn't willing to fight about this. "I'm not throwing these ones out, though."

"That's fine by me." Cyrus looks back down at his phone. "Put them on, then we'll go. Pixal can meet us at the store, if she makes it."

Morro switches shoes, and soon enough, it's time to leave.

* * *

"There's no harm in making a digital appearance –"

"I want to be there in person, Zane," Pixal says. "We talked about this."

Zane frowns, facing the wall as he converses with Pixal, the AI taking up most of his vision. "That was before Sensei Wu was injured."

"Wu is recovering just fine. We don't need to be here to –"

"He is not 'just fine,' Pixal," Zane says. "You ran that scan yourself."

Pixal is quiet for a long moment. Zane figures the discussion is over, until Pixal says, "My father is expecting me –"

"As I said, Pixal, you can appear there digitally. It's not like Borg doesn't have the technology, and we don't know what the temporal energy on Sensei is doing to him." Zane shakes his head. "I am not leaving him unless there's an emergency."

"If you tell the others –"

"I don't want them to worry."

"If it's not important enough to tell them, it's not important enough to stay here for."

"Pixal, what has gotten into you?"

Though her expression doesn't change, Zane can feel Pixal's anger pricking at his systems. "What do you mean?" she says, her voice calm.

Zane chooses his words carefully. "Is there something wrong? You're not usually this… argumentative."

It takes some time before Pixal answers, Zane feeling the milliseconds – full seconds, even – ticking away in his systems.

"There is nothing truly wrong," she says. "I want to see my father, and it upsets me that you do not. It feels as if this scan we did on Wu was an excuse for you to stay. Zane, why do you not want to see him?"

"Please don't misunderstand, Pixal," Zane says. "It isn't that I don't want to see Cyrus Borg. it's that I don't want to be around Morro for longer than I need to be."

"Ah," Pixal says, and pauses.

"You understand, don't you, Pixal?"

"Yes, I believe I do." Pixal moves out of his field of vision. "I will make a digital appearance. It is about time I get around on my own, don't you think?"

"I will say, I have felt that you've been confined to my systems for too long. Perhaps you should talk to your father about creating a new body for you."

"Perhaps," says Pixal, and the conversation is over.


	4. 'Cause you can run but you can't hide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one chapter left and then I run out of the ones I have pre-written lmao
> 
> borgwatch reveal time

**Chapter Four**

I'm out of my head, of my heart and my mind,  
 **'Cause you can run but you can't hide.  
** I'm gonna make you mine.

[SIAMÉS – The Wolf](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX44CAz-JhU)

"Incredible! A wall-mounted window for displaying thirty-second dramas!"

The television switches off. "Those 'dramas' are called _commercials,_ " Krux says, putting down the remote while his sister shoots a glare at him. "Cynical films playing off consumer's insecurities to convince them to purchase that which they do not need!"

He storms off. Acronix turns back to the blank screen.

"So cool," she says in awe. "I am jealous, brother – you got to experience the last forty years of progress! Look at this!" She walks over to the counter and starts playing with the machines, pressing buttons at random. "Hot beverages at the touch of a button! A beadless abacus! Instant communication! So many wondrous things we couldn't even have conceived of when we were kids!"

"Worthless, all of it!" Krux sighs. "I absolutely despise modern life," he mutters, then looks back at Acronix and raises his voice. "Acronix, put that BorgPad down. It's a vile contraption – everyone, perpetually plugged in, distracted like infants by lights and sounds!"

"I got it at the museum gift shop!" Acronix says brightly.

"You mean you _stole_ it."

"Why do you sell them, if you don't even like them?"

"'Sander Saunders' may be the director, but I still have to answer to the higher-ups." Krux goes back to his work, checking on the tank. "If it makes them money, who cares that it's a plague on society! When we're in charge, I'm going to get rid of all this technology, and return everyone to the old ways – the better ways! We didn't need constant outside stimulation, we didn't need our senses to be bombarded by people trying to make a profit, we didn't…"

He turns back to Acronix and trails off. "Acronix? Are you even listening?!"

"Yes! Smashed all the candy!" Acronix looks up from the BorgPad. "What were you saying, brother?"

Krux sighs and cracks a smile. "It's funny," he says, more to himself than Acronix. "I even missed how annoying you are."

"Hey!"

"No time to argue, sister!" Krux says loudly. "It's almost midnight, and we have work to do."

* * *

Pixal's screen is set up in the Borg Store's window; she's communicating through Cyrus' phone at the moment, and they're chatting happily with each other while Morro keeps to the back of the store. He can see the crowd out in front, already lined up, and the windows are clear so he's pretty sure they can see him, too, and his suit is feeling too tight and ill-fitted, even though Cyrus said it was tailored exactly to his measurements…

"Morro? Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Morro says without thinking. Then, "Wait, what?"

Cyrus looks over at him. "It's almost time for the doors to open," he says. "Are you ready?"

"Uh," says Morro, and he starts picking at his suit. Cyrus frowns, rolls his wheelchair forward, and before Morro can react, his father is right in front of him, adjusting his tie.

"You don't have to be so nervous," Cyrus says quietly. "You don't have to speak to the press, or to anyone – all you have to do is stand there."

Morro grumbles wordlessly.

"You'll be fine, I promise." He lets go of Morro's tie and smiles up at him. "I want Ninjago to know how proud of you I am, how far you've progressed since you first arrived in my care. Can you believe it's been almost a year, now?"

"Feels like longer," Morro says.

"It does, sometimes. Then there are times where it feels like no time at all. I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Morro takes a deep breath. "Stop being sappy," he says. "Let's get this over with."

Cyrus chuckles. "Alright! Pixal, I think we're all ready!"

When they exit the doors, the crowd cheers. Morro attempts a smile and thinks about waving, but decides not to. He stands next to the screen Pixal displays herself on while Cyrus begins the announcement. Morro barely hears what's being said, all he can think about are all the eyes on him, everyone watching him, judging him – 

When the crowd starts to scream and shove each other in an attempt to run away, it takes Morro longer than he would've liked to notice the armored orange samurai advancing towards them.

Cyrus doesn't seem to notice them at all. "Not quite the reaction I was anticipating," he says, just before Morro grabs his wheelchair and pulls him inside the store. "Ah! Morro, what's –"

"Weird looking guy with a sword," Morro says. "Do the doors lock?"

The samurai smashes through the automatic doors before they've fully opened for them. Cyrus yelps as the samurai cackles and begins to smash the display electronics. Morro moves in front of Cyrus, clenching his fists.

"Morro, no!" Cyrus cries. "We need to get out of here!"

"You go!" Morro yells back. "I'll hold this guy off!"

Pixal's face appears on one of the screens. "I'm calling the ninja," she says. "Morro, don't put yourself in danger."

"I'll be fine," Morro snaps. "It's just one guy. I can take them!"

"Morro –"

Ignoring his sister, Morro runs forward at the samurai, who grabs him effortlessly and throws him through the shattered doors.

The crowd has dispersed, which is good, Morro thinks, picking himself off the ground. No one to see him embarrass himself. Morro stands up and wobbles for a moment. Someone catches him.

"Whoa, dude!" the man says. "You alright?"

Morro shoves him away. "Who are you?" he asks.

"I'm Dareth, the Brown –"

"I don't care," Morro snaps, and he runs back into the store.

The screen Pixal was on has been shattered. The samurai is still smashing the items in the store, using their sword as a bludgeon. Cyrus is stuck in a corner, the samurai between him and the emergency exit. Morro runs forward and tries to tackle the samurai. He hears Cyrus cry out again before Morro is thrown back outside.

He lands on his shoulder and tears his suit. Morro forces himself back to his feet. "You!" he yells at Dareth. "Get help! Do something!"

"Do something?" Dareth says. "Alright, you asked for it. That guy's gonna face the wrath of the Brown Ninja!"

"I said _get help_ –"

Dareth advances towards the samurai, and the only thing Morro can do is follow.

This time, when he lands on the ground, a shard of glass stabs into his palm when he picks himself up again. He hisses and yanks it out, wiping the blood on his nice new pants. This can't go on, Morro thinks. He can't keep letting himself get thrown out of there. He needs to be there to protect his dad.

By the time the ninja get there, he's been thrown at least seven times. Nya helps him to his feet, and he can't find it within himself to complain. His head is spinning and he's having trouble breathing for some reason. Nya asks him what's going on, and all he can say is, "Dad."

"We'll get him out of there," Nya says. "Guys, I think this guy is tougher than we thought."

"Ha!" Kai says. Morro glares at him as he continues. "I can take him, no problem! Here, I'll prove it!"

" _Kai!_ " Nya yells as her brother rushes in. He comes flying out soon afterwards.

Morro would like to gloat, but all he can do is take fast, shaky breaths. His chest is hurting. He can't even keep himself upright, clinging to Nya.

"I think Morro's really hurt!" Nya says.

"Get him away from here, and then come and help us!" Jay yells back behind him, as he and the other ninja run into the store.

"No," Morro says, "I can't – I need to –"

Nya half-drags him to where Dareth is hiding. "Dareth, keep an eye on him," she says. "Don't worry, Morro, we'll get Cyrus Borg out of there. Just stay here, okay?"

He can't argue. He slumps against the wall as Nya runs back to the others. Cyrus will be fine, he tells himself, feeling his chest aching. The ninja haven't lost yet. They certainly didn't lose to _him._ They'll fight off this samurai and save his father and make sure this never happens again.

Dareth tries to ask him something. Morro opens his mouth to answer, and passes out.

* * *

Pixal appears back in his vision the moment Zane bursts through the doors. He nearly trips over himself in his hurry to apologize. "I'm so sorry, Pixal, if I had known –"

"There's no time for this," Pixal says. "Please, Zane, my father needs your help!"

Zane nods, and he turns to the other ninja. "I will get Cyrus Borg to safety," he tells them. "Can you handle the samurai by yourselves?"

"Uh," says Jay.

"Good," says Zane, and he runs forward. Cyrus is boxed in, surrounded by fallen debris, and he's struggling to move his wheelchair over a fallen computer display when Zane reaches him.

"Zane!" Cyrus cries. "Oh, thank goodness – is Pixal –"

"She's right here," Zane says. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Cyrus glances at the samurai. "What about Morro?"

"He's outside. We're getting you out of here."

Zane picks up the wheelchair and Cyrus both and carries him over to the emergency exit – alarms are already blaring, so nothing changes when he kicks the door open. Once outside, he puts him down and pushes him in his wheelchair down the alley.

"Do you know anything about who that samurai is?" Cyrus asks.

"No," Zane says, "but I promise, we'll find out."

"Wait, stop!"

Zane skids to a stop. Cyrus frowns at someone up ahead. "Well," he says, "I didn't expect to see _you_ here…"

"Who?" Zane asks, but just as he tries to get a good look, something slams into his side and his vision shuts down.

* * *

Cole punches the samurai and they explode.

"Oh my God!" Jay yelps. "You vaporized them!"

"I didn't mean to!" Cole says in horror.

"Wait," Nya says. "Look!"

Surrounding the fallen armor of the samurai are dozens of orange snakes. The snakes slither towards the armor and twist around each other, stretching up and growing to fill the armor once more. Newly reformed, the samurai grins at the ninja and cackles.

"Okay," Jay says. "Cole, vaporize them again."

"There's more of them!" Kai yelps.

Two more samurai are approaching from either side. Jay, Kai, and Nya adjust their stances and grip their weapons. Cole shakes out his hands and takes a deep breath before clenching them into fists.

"Kinda wish Lloyd was here," Kai says. "Be nice to have more backup!"

"Especially since these guys are, like, invincible," Jay adds.

"I don't think so," Nya says, and a blast of water scatters one of the samurai into their individual snakes. "Look – I think they need the armor to reform! If we can get them away…"

"I'm on it!" Jay sends a current of electricity through the puddle of water the snakes are swimming in. They hiss and scatter in all directions, most of them following the stream into the sewers. They repeat the maneuver for the other two, while Kai and Cole snatch up the pieces of armor before the snakes can get to it. The street now clear, they do a quick scan of the area before going back inside.

"I think that's all of them," Kai says. "Let's check on Zane."

The emergency exit is still agar; they step through it and walk down the alley. Kai cups his hands to his mouth. "Hey, Zane, you can come out now! We took care of the samurai!"

"It was mostly me and Nya," Jay says.

"Hang on, guys." Cole bends down and picks a shattered BorgWatch off the ground. "This was Cyrus Borg's, right? Do you think someone followed them down here?"

" _Zane!_ "

The three of them turn towards Nya's cry. "Oh no," Jay whimpers, seeing the fallen figure Nya's crouched over. "Oh no, oh no –"

"We've got to get him back to the bounty!" Kai yells. "Come on, guys!"

* * *

When the rush ends, Cyrus finds himself in the museum with all the lights off and the doors closed. He cries out, only for a hand to clap over his mouth.

"Sorry," the voice behind him says, pushing his wheelchair down the hall. "You'll be fine, just one second…"

Cyrus tries to object, but his kidnapper's hand is clamped so firmly over his mouth, all his cries are muffled.

"Which one was it… there!" A level is pulled, and a piece of the wall twists out, revealing a hidden entrance. Cyrus is wheeled inside, and the door closes, leaving them in darkness.

"Shit," the person says. "Wait here."

The hand is removed. Cyrus realizes he's gasping for breath, his heart pounding – he puts his hands on his wheels, but where is he going to go?

The lights click on.

"Here we go!" the person turns around and grins at him. "Should I introduce myself? Or do you know who I am?"

"Acronix?!" Cyrus blurts out – because that's the only person she could be, with the same elaborate armor depicted in the painting behind her. He backs up and bumps into the wall behind him.

"That's right!" Acronix says. "Sorry about the circumstances of our meeting, but I'm sure things will improve from here on out."

"You kidnapped me!" Cyrus exclaims.

Acronix has the audacity to look apologetic. "Well, you wouldn't have worked with us willingly, so we had to – oh!"

Two creatures, same as the one who destroyed the Borg Store, walk out of the next room. "Okay," Acronix says, turning to them. "You're the Vermillion Warriors – you're supposed to listen to me, right? Can you show Mr. Borg to his quarters?"

The Vermillion Warriors stand there and do nothing. Acronix frowns. "Can you… _please_ show Mr. Borg to his quarters?" she says.

After another long moment, they move. Cyrus tries to maneuver past them, but they grab his arms and pull him off his wheelchair. "That is _not_ what I asked you do to!" Acronix says, raising her voice over Cyrus' screams. "Please bring Mr. Borg back to his wheelchair, and –"

"Acronix!"

They stop, holding Cyrus up between them. The door flips open again, and Cyrus recognizes the man who comes storming in.

"Krux!" Acronix says, further baffling Cyrus, because that's not Sander Saunders' name. "Can you tell these snake people to treat Mr. Borg a little more gently? They're not listening to me!"

"Just a moment, dear sister." Saunders motions to the Vermillion Warriors. "Restrain him, do not harm him, but make sure he doesn't make any noise. We'll bring him to our base later. I need to deal with the ninja."

"And don't be so rough!" Acronix yells out as the Vermillion Warriors drag Cyrus out of the room.


	5. Thinking I deserve the dream but I don't deserve the hurting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what's up here's chapter
> 
> warnings for mild suicide ideation (or possibly more than mild, I don't have a good grasp on how much is mild, but it's not severe)

**Chapter Five**

Ain't even scratched the surface,  
 **Thinking I deserve the dream but I don't deserve the hurting.  
** I want the flame without the burning,  
But I can't find my purpose when I don't know what my worth is. **  
** _[American Authors – Deep Water](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYo6iAQ2pqk) _

The soft _clink_  against the rock doesn't register at first, but when he takes his head out of the trash, there's a plate of food resting a few feet away. He moves towards it, then freezes.

The man from the monastery is watching him.

People don't leave food out for kids like him. He's always had to take it when they're not looking. But the man isn't moving, standing just inside the gate. He looks back at the food and takes a step closer. Then another. Then he runs up and grabs the plate, scurrying away again before he's caught.

He looks back with his mouth full of shrimp. The man has moved, has stepped outside the gate, and is still watching him. He swallows the food, clutches the plate in trembling hands, and manages a smile.

The man speaks:

"Child, what's your name?"

What is his name? He doesn't want to be named after his mother anymore. He told the kids who showed him where to find food that his name was Zephyr, but that doesn't feel right, either. He looks down at the empty plate. "Um…"

The man waits for him to continue. He looks up at him, tries again.

"Morro," he says.

"Morro," the man repeats. "Morro, do you have a place to sleep?"

"Yes," he says, because the fenced-off yard with the barrels collecting rainwater is a place.

The man takes a deep breath. "It worries me, seeing a child on their own. If you are ever in danger, I can give you a place to stay."

Morro shrinks under the man's gaze and darts away, back down the mountain. He realizes halfway down the stone steps that he's still holding the plate, but it's too late to go back.

In the fenced-off yard, he knocks over a stack of boards and gets chased off. He wraps his arms around himself and shivers, looking up at the mountain, and thinks of the man from the monastery. The night is cold and rainy, but he's not really in danger…  but maybe there'll be more food tomorrow morning.

Wu finds Morro curled up outside the gate, shivering uncontrollably and drifting in and out of consciousness. When he's picked up, he wakes enough to struggle, pushing at the man's chest in a feeble attempt to get down. Wu whispers something to soothe him, the words half-forgotten, and carries the boy inside.

* * *

Morro wakes up in a bed that's not his own. His body feels weighed down by sleep, and he has to force himself to sit up. Immediately, a hand is placed on his chest, gently pushing him down to the bed again.

"Easy, kid. You took a beating back there."

Morro blinks. "Ronin?

"Yeah," Ronin says, sitting on the chair next to him. "Apparently I'm listed as one of your emergency contacts, which, honestly? Can't be your smartest decision." He chuckles. "But seriously, stay in bed. Don't push yourself just yet."

Morro nods. "Where's Dad – I mean, Borg?"

Ronin winces. Anxiety flares up in Morro's chest. "Where is he?" he demands. "The ninja – they got him out, right?!"

"I told you to call someone as soon as he woke up!"

A short woman in a doctor's outfit storms into the room. Ronin immediately turns to her. "Chill, he woke up like, a minute ago."

"Who are you?" Morro says.

The woman sits next to the bed, in a chair opposite from Ronin. "My name is Dr. Tesser. The results of your echocardiogram just came back, and –"

"My _what?_ " Morro tries to sit up again. Ronin stops him. "Have you been doing experiments on me?

"No. We're a hospital, we've been taking care of you."

"Where's my dad?!"

Tesser glances at Ronin. "I need you to calm down, first," she says.

"No!" Morro shoves Ronin's hand away. "I want my dad! Tell me where he is!"

"Kid –" Ronin starts. Morro tries to punch him.

Tesser grabs his arm. "You need to calm down and listen to me," she says sternly. "Because you have a serious condition that will kill you if you don't treat it."

That catches Morro off guard. "What do you mean?" he says. "I've – I've never had a problem like this before!"

Wait, that's not right – Morro remembers training under Wu, pain in his chest, unable to catch his breath, the world going dark. "I mean, it's happened before," he says. "But – it stopped, after…"

After he drank the tea that cured all physical ailments, the tea that condemned him to the Cursed Realm – and it happened again, the night after he dispelled the curse. Morro sits there with his mouth open.

Tesser fixes Morro with a serious gaze. "The tests we ran found you have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy," she says, "and I would like you to listen to me explain what that means, because I'm serious when I say it will kill you."

Morro sucks in air through his teeth. "Fine," he mutters. "What is it?"

As Tesser explains, Morro keeps thinking back to the days when he lived with Wu, over fifty years ago. When he fainted from overexertion back then, Wu thought it was a problem with his lungs, and took him to a number of doctors who found nothing wrong – but from what he's hearing now, every time Morro passed out back then, there was a chance he would have never woken up.

"Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is when a portion of your heart is thicker than it should be," Tesser says. "Your sonogram showed that this is the case. It's likely that this is genetic; do you know anything about your biological family? If there's a history of heart problems, or sudden, unexpected deaths…"

"I don't know," Morro says. "I ran away when I was… six years old? I don't even remember my parent's names."

"Well, it doesn't make much of a difference. The treatment for what we found is the same." Tesser takes a deep breath. "Now, you can stay in the hospital for as long as you need to. Don't think you need to rush home right away…"

"Why shouldn't I?" Morro says. "It's not like I want to be stuck in here. When can my – when can Borg pick me up?"

Again, Ronin winces. "Kid," he says, "there's something I gotta tell you. Borg went missing."

Morro blinks.

"What?" he says.

Tesser opens her mouth, then hesitates. "I only saw what was on the news," she says. "I imagine your friend would know more…"

"I was there when you passed out," Ronin says. "I mean, I didn't plan to be there, I just…" He sighs. "Dareth had already called the ambulance, so all I had to do was make sure you stayed okay until then."

"What happened?" Morro says. "Where's my dad?"

"We don't know, kid. Zane got him out of there, and then after the ninja fought those weird samurai, they tried to find him… and only found Zane, who was knocked offline."

He can't process this. Morro hears Ronin and thinks – well, he'll leave the hospital and Cyrus Borg will be there to pick him up, like he always is. He'll go home and sleep and wake up to have breakfast and everything will be fine."

"What – what –" Morro doesn't know why he's stammering. "What does Pixal think? She –"

"She hasn't shown up since before they found Zane," Ronin says. "Probably she's offline like Zane is. Last I heard, all his data's fine, so there's no reason Pixal's not fine, too, Zane's just… not booting up."

"Okay," Morro says. "That's fine. I just… I just…"

He bursts into tears. Numbly, he thinks about how embarrassing this is, crying in front of Ronin and a doctor he doesn't know. Why is he acting like this? He covers his face with his arm and tries not to sob too loud.

* * *

The rest of the stay goes by in a blur. Tesser explains his treatment to him. Or maybe some nurse does? It's hard to remember. His phone was smashed during the fight, and he doesn't know Skylor's number. The hospital calls Cyrus' secretary, who offers to drive Morro back to the tower – but it's starting to sink in that Cyrus won't be there, and Morro can't do it. He can't face going back to the tower and knowing there are hundreds of people in it and none of them are Cyrus Borg.

After he's discharged from the hospital, Morro takes a change of clothes and drives with Ronin to the pawn shop.

"You mind if I ask what the hell happened?" Ronin asks as they pull out of the parking lot. "How long has this been going on?"

"Since I was a kid," Morro says. "When I was training with Sensei – with Wu, I would pass out like that."

"Seriously? Is that what killed you the first time?"

Morro groans. "No, it wasn't. I thought – I thought I had fixed it, but…"

The old shopkeeper told him the tea would cure anything that caused him pain, make him stronger, give him more stamina, make him capable of finding the tomb – but that it came with a price. When he died, his soul would fall into the arms of the Preeminent, trapped in the Cursed Realm for eternity. Morro was young and full of anger. The price didn't seem too high to pay.

"Fixed it how?"

"Why do you care?" he says. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"The hell do you mean, it doesn't matter?" Ronin exclaims. "Not only do you have a heart condition that might kill you, you told me your curse wasn't lifted – if you die from doing some stupid shit, you'll go to the Cursed Realm! Damn, kid, sorry for being worried about your stupid ass."

Morro looks up at him and blinks.

"I'm not cursed anymore," he says. "So even if I die –"

Ronin makes a sudden move with the car and nearly swerves into the guardrail. Morro's words catch in his throat and he grabs the door.

"What the hell?" he sputters. "What was that?"

They pull into a parking lot. Ronin puts his head on the wheel and takes a few breaths before he turns to Morro.

"You're not cursed anymore," he says. "Is that even possible? I mean, without dealing with – well, you know."

"The same tea that fixed my heart cursed my soul," Morro says slowly. "Before – before the stupid midnight reveal, my dad and I… we found a spell to reverse the effects. I thought it would just lift my curse, but I guess it reversed everything else, too. What's going on?"

"Are you sure? Here, let me check –"

Morro pushes Ronin's hands away. "Hey! I can do it myself, look –"

He places his owns hands to his chest and repeats the incantation, over and over. He thinks of Cyrus smiling down at him, so happy after they had finally accomplished the goal that they'd been working towards for months, the whole reason Cyrus had learned magic. Morro had felt like nothing bad could happen ever again, and that _very night_ –

His chest glows pink.

Ronin gapes at him. Morro frowns. "Why are you acting like this?" he says. "I thought you'd at least be happy for me."

"How the hell do you not know?"

"What?"

It takes him a moment to figure it out. Ronin puts his hands to his own chest and says the spell. Morro realizes why he's doing it before the spell is completed, before the color of his soul shines through.

"No," he says, watching Ronin's chest glow green. "No, no, no –"

Ronin cracks a smile. "Seriously, kid, how'd you not know this? Thought you were buddy-buddy with Soul Archer back then."

"I had no idea, I –" Morro's voice catches. "– no, no, there's got to be a way to fix this –"

"Uh, yeah, there is. You just told me your curse was lifted."

"My curse was lifted by reversing the effects of the potion I took that cursed it in the first place," Morro says. "It was – it was specific to me, and to people who were cursed like I was. How were you cursed?"

Ronin's smile disappears. "Well, first I lost a bet, then I found out I had bet against a ghost, and then he stabbed me with an arrow, 'cept it didn't leave a wound. Then the bar kicked me out for causing a disturbance."

"Then the potion won't work for you. Oh, God –" The car seems much smaller than it was just a few moments ago. Morro sucks in fast breaths. "We need to fix this. I – I need to fix this, I –"

Ronin puts a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, kid. Look, I've been fine so far. I look both ways before crossing the street, it's fine, kid –"

"It's not fine!" Morro shoves his hand away. "I can't sit here and do nothing! You're my friend! I don't want you to go to the Cursed Realm when you die!"

"If I die," Ronin says. "I might not."

"Everyone dies, Ronin!" Morro yells.

"You're hyperventilating." Ronin sighs. "We don't have to talk about this right now. I'm not dying anytime soon, alright? We've got time to figure out my problem."

"But –"

"Look, kid, I've been fine for this long," Ronin says. "What I'm worried about is that tea you drank. If all the effects were reversed, what other conditions are gonna try to kill you?"

"Nothing," Morro mutters. "It's not like…"

He trails off. Other things had changed after the tea, subtle corrections of the parts of his body that had been wrong. His voice deepened. His chest shrank. The changes hadn't gone as far as to give him facial hair, but Morro hadn't felt that dysphoric over not needing to shave.

Is all that going to go away?

"Not like what, kid?"

"I said, nothing," Morro snaps. He can feel tears threatening again, and he crosses his arms over his chest and slumps against the window. Ronin frowns, but pulls onto the road and doesn't press the issue.

* * *

Morro spends the night crying on Ronin's couch.

The next morning, he wakes up to Ronin running the coffee grinder. "Your meds are on the table, kid," he says when Morro sits up. "How're you feeling?"

He should say something about Ronin's curse, they should start working on getting it lifted as soon as they can. Instead, what Morro says is, "What if my dad's dead? What if whoever got him – what if they kill him?"

"Borg's been through a lot," Ronin says casually. "Hasn't killed him yet. He's probably keeping himself busy worrying about you."

Morro pulls the blanket over his head.

"Seriously, kid, take your meds. You've got a pretty serious condition."

"I wanna die," Morro mumbles.

"And what would your dad say about that?"

"If he was here, he could tell me," he snaps. "But he's not."

"So he'll tell you when he's back. Come have some coffee."

Morro gets up and takes the offered mug. "Can I have water?" he asks.

"What, instead of coffee?"

"No, for my pills."

"Take 'em with coffee."

Morro makes a face at him.

"Yeah, I'll get you water."

He takes his pills, drinks his coffee, eats a half bowl of dry cereal, and crawls back under the blanket. All he can think of is Cyrus Borg, trapped somewhere – is his kidnapper giving him food? Have they locked him in a dark room, without his wheelchair, with no food or water? Do they let him use the bathroom?

His thoughts grow darker and darker as his imagination wanders. There were living prisoners in the Cursed Realm. They didn't last long; the ghosts chained them up and left them to slowly die of thirst. He remembers them begging for water, their voices dry and rasping – except his memories change, and it's his father in those chains, Cyrus Borg who is pleading for something to drink, or at least a merciful death –

The blanket gets pulled off him. "C'mon, kid," Ronin says. "Time to open up shop. You can't mope around forever; it'll do you good to keep busy."

Morro curls up and sobs. "What if he dies?" he chokes out. "What if I never see him again? What if nothing good for me ever lasts?"

Ronin sighs and crouches down next to him. "Listen, kid," he says. "Those are some pretty big 'what ifs.' Sure, maybe they'll be true – but you don't know that. The ninja are on the case, and they haven't lost yet. And y'know what?"

"What?"

"There's nothing you can do about it but wait, 'cause you've got a heart condition, and I'm sure as hell not gonna be the one to tell Cyrus Borg his son's dead."

Morro turns away and buries his face in a pillow.

Ronin sighs. "Stay here for as long as you need to, kid. I've got to get to work. You're welcome to join me whenever you feel up to it."

He stands up and leaves. Morro thinks about trying to smother himself with the pillows. He doesn't.


	6. There's a room where the light won't find you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome to chapter

**Chapter Six**

**There's a room where the light won't find you.  
** Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down.  
When they do, I'll be right behind you…

[ _Tears for Fears – Everybody Wants to Rule the World_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST86JM1RPl0)

"Thanks for coming with me, Skylor," Kai says as the two walk into the museum. "I know it's short notice…"

He trails off, looking at the helmet he's carrying. Skylor smiles. "Don't worry about it. This whole situation is kind of a mess."

Kai nods. "You been in touch with Morro at all? Not that I, like, give a shit about him, but I haven't heard anything since he got taken to the hospital."

"He's staying with Ronin." The museum is empty; it's past closing time, after all. Kai and Skylor's steps echo through the halls. "I haven't really talked to either of them – my fault, I got distracted trying to look up information on the Masters of Time…"

"Shit," says Krux.

He steps away from the binoculars and picks up his disguise. Of course they'd come to him, the history professor, to see what they could discover. He motions to the Vermillion and they step back, deeper into the office.

Acronix moves up to him while he's putting on the disguise. "I can get them out of here," she says. "Krux, if you let me –"

"No," he says firmly. "We're not blowing my cover just yet – it would be beneficial to have the resources granted by this position for a few days longer."

Acronix grips the timeblade. Krux can hear the buzz of her power flowing through it. "But –"

"Let me handle them, Acronix. Stay here."

Kai and Skylor haven't reached the hall with the secret entrance yet; Krux steps out and makes sure the entrance is closed tight before clearing his throat. "Hello?" he says in Sander Saunder's fake accent. "The museum is closed, so if you could come back tomorrow…"

"Oh!" Kai takes a few running steps to reach the room. "Sorry, Dr. Saunders, but this is important. I mean, you've probably heard the news –"

"Oh, yes, yes." Krux nods. "Strange samurai attacked the BorgWatch reveal just the other day, and Mr. Borg himself is now missing."

"Yeah." Skylor caught up to Kai and smiled. "Hey, Saunders, I don't think we've met before. I'm Skylor."

Krux beams at her. "It's very nice to meet you, Skylor – would you like to sit down? Have some tea?"

"No time," Kai says. "Saunders, we need any information you might have on this armor."

He thrusts the helmet forward. Krux takes it gingerly, turning it over in his hands as if he doesn't know where it came from.

"Ah," he says. "I'm afraid I'm not sure… it doesn't look to be of any historical significance. Not from a time period I'm familiar with."

"Does that mean it was made recently?" Skylor asks.

"Oh no, not necessarily – just that it wasn't, ah, noteworthy."

"But it is!" Kai insists. "Those weird samurai? They were a bunch of snakes, and the armor, like gives them power or something! Makes them act like one person!"

Krux shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing special about this helmet," he says, and he hands it back.

Skylor frowns. "Maybe it's not the armor that's special," she says. "Maybe it's the snakes. Kai, what if it could be any old armor, and it just happened to be this one?"

She's exactly right, but Krux isn't about to tell her that. "Seems like you have a lot to think about," he says. "I wish I could help you more, but unfortunately –"

"Maybe you can," Kai says. "You know that myth you told us about? The Hands of Time?"

Shit, Krux thinks. "Hm? When did I tell you that? My memory's not very good, now that I'm old…"

"When we were cleaning the museum." Kai nods to Skylor. "We found that old painting, and you said they were a myth, but just a few hours ago, we fought one of them! Acronix!"

Keep up the act. "Really!" Krux says. "Fascinating! I had no idea!"

Skylor raises an eyebrow. "Really? I mean, you're a historian – isn't this stuff your job?"

He's done this for decades. He's not going to slip up now. "Oh, there's all sorts of unexplained mysteries in Ninjago. I'm not surprised there are things even I don't know."

Kai laughs. "Are you calling Saunders bad at his job, Skylor?"

Her face flushes. "Sorry, yeah, that was rude of me."

Krux breathes deep. "Is there anything more you'd like to ask from me?" he says.

"I mean, you had the painting," Kai says. "Is there anything you might know about them, even if you thought they were a myth?"

"Hm…" Krux frowns. "I'm afraid I'm not sure… all the myths said was that the Hands of Time had the shared powers of time, and that they fought the other elemental masters a few decades ago. I don't know what happened after that – if they existed, they must have… disappeared!"

"Acronix did," Kai says. "She went in a time portal and didn't emerge until right before Cyrus Borg was kidnapped. I mean, I'm pretty sure she died when the timeblade exploded –"

Krux barely manages to keep his face straight.

"– but it's a weird coincidence!" He sighs. "It's alright, though. Come on, Skylor, let's go."

Krux walks them to the door. "Take care now!" he says with as much false cheeriness as he can muster. "Good luck on keeping Ninjago safe and… whatever else you do! Goodbye!"

His fake mustache gets caught in the sliding glass doors and is torn off.

Kai slides the door open again before he can replace it. "Actually," he says, "I think we have a few more questions, Saunders. Like, why are you wearing a disguise?"

"And," Skylor says, holding up her phone, "why did Nya just tell me she spotted you and Acronix in Zane's recovered video files?"

Krux tries to laugh it off while keeping his face covered. "Ha ha, I don't know what you're talking about."

Kai's eyes narrow, and he advances towards Krux, who backs up deeper into the museum. "Acronix didn't die," Kai says, "and she went straight to you, and you're wearing a disguise… Sander Saunders isn't your real name, is it, _Krux?_ "

"You're more perceptive than I thought," Krux says, and he drops the disguise and grabs a sword off the museum display. Kai barely manages to draw his own sword in time to block him.

"Kai!" Skylor yells, and her own hands light up with flame. "Be careful! If Acronix is here –"

Krux feels the hum of energy as Acronix materializes in front of Skylor, blocking her from coming closer. "What about me?" she says, brandishing the timeblade. "You're the Master of Amber, right?"

Skylor glares at her. "My father didn't keep any files on you two," she says, dropping into a fighting stance. "I wonder why?"

Acronix tilts her head. "Who was your father?"

"Master Chen."

"Chen?!" Acronix makes a strangled noise. "The Master of Amber had a child with _him?_ But he's… terrible!"

"I am aware," Skylor says.

While Acronix and Skylor trade blows, Krux is acutely feeling his age in his own fight. The display sword is much too heavy to fight with well, and his joints are aching. He can't move as fast as he used to, and certainly not as fast as Kai can.

He has to think of something fast.

"You fight well," he says, blocking another blow. "Your parents would be proud!"

Kai glares at him. "Yeah, yeah, we get it, you knew my parents forty years ago –"

"Yes, yes. They fought alongside us in the Serpentine War." Krux backs up and grins. "But I knew them much more recently than that!"

Kai hesitates. "You mean when they fought you and Acronix when you tried to take over Ninjago?" he says. He doesn't attack, not immediately.

"Oh, Wu really doesn't tell his students anything, does he?" Krux keeps his distance from Kai as he takes slow steps around him. "Maya and Ray may have fought against us at first, but Wu doesn't know the full story. After Acronix went into the portal, let's just say they… reconsidered."

Kai's eyes widen. "No," he says. "No, you're lying, they wouldn't –"

Krux laughs. "Your parents were traitors, Kai!" he says. "Didn't you wonder who made that armor you're holding? It's been quite a boon having the blacksmiths on our side –"

"You're lying!" Kai yells, drawing the attention of Skylor. In the moment she's distracted, Acronix strikes with the timeblade. The crackle of energy ripples out through the room, causing Kai and Krux to stumble.

In the center of the room, Skylor and Acronix are frozen, and Skylor has one hand on the timeblade.

Krux's stomach lurches.

"Shit!" he exclaims. "Acronix –"

They break apart. Skylor cradles her bleeding hand and takes a few deep breaths. Acronix looks back at Krux. "What?" she says.

Skylor straightens up and smirks. "Thanks," she says, and snaps her fingers.

In a burst of green energy, Skylor appears behind Acronix and sweeps her legs out from underneath her. While Acronix picks herself up, Skylor grabs her arm and tries to wrench the timeblade away from her.

"She's the Master of Amber!" Krux yells. "She can _copy elemental powers!_ You've just given her one of the powers of time, Acronix!"

Acronix keeps a grip on the timeblade and shoves Skylor away. "Let's retreat," she says.

"Wait –"

Acronix appears beside him, grabs his arm, and they both disappear.

* * *

Skylor frowns at the blood on her hand. "Not a deep cut," she says to Kai, who's still staring at where Krux was. "It'll heal. Are you okay?"

"We need to follow them," Kai says, and he takes off at a run.

Skylor uses the element of speed to block his way before he gets far. "We need to tell the others what happened," she says. "We don't know where they went – they're probably far away by now!"

Kai grits his teeth. "But –"

"I know, Kai." Skylor sighs. "But Nya's already called the police, and they'll be able to search the museum for evidence. Let's go out and wait for them. They'll want to get a statement from us."

She can see Kai's shoulders shaking. "He knows something about my parents," he says. "I need to know what! I barely remember them, and now –"

Skylor puts a hand on his shoulder. "We'll find out," she says. "I promise."

* * *

While the police search the museum, Skylor calls Morro.

He picks up almost instantaneously. "Skylor? What is it?"

"We found out who kidnapped Borg."

She hears Morro move on the other end. " _What?_ Who was it? Where is he?"

"Acronix and Krux. Just fought them both. They got away, but –"

"They got _away?_ " Morro yells. Skylor winces and holds the phone away from her head. "Where are you?! I'll find them, I –"

"Calm down, Morro!" Skylor glances over at Kai – oh, Nya's with him, now. "Look, the ninja are on the case, and now I am, too. I promise, we'll get your dad back."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Nothing!" says Skylor, maybe a little too forcefully. "You have a heart condition! I know it's hard, Morro, but you need to stay safe, alright? You can't fight anymore."

For a few moments, Morro says nothing. Then he hangs up.

Skylor thinks about calling him back, but Nya is waving her over, so she slips her phone in her pocket and walks quickly towards her. She'll check in with Morro later – and she'll do everything she can to rescue Cyrus Borg.

* * *

Lloyd isn't happy to hear the news. "I should've been there," he grumbles, pacing back and forth in front of Wu, Misako, and Garmadon. "First Cyrus Borg gets kidnapped, and now Acronix _and_ Krux are back!"

"You aren't expected to be everywhere, Lloyd," Misako says gently. "You made the best decision based on the information you had at the time."

"Still!" Lloyd shakes his head. "I should've been at the museum, I should've been at the Borgwatch reveal, and I should've been at the monastery in the first place!"

"That wasn't your fault," Garmadon says, from where he sits beside Wu. "It was my brother's choice to face Acronix alone."

"And it's a choice I regret." Wu shifts his position in the bed. "I'm sorry, Lloyd. Had I told you, maybe…"

He trails off. Lloyd stops pacing. "Maybe what?" he asks.

Garmadon frowns. "Yes, brother, maybe what?"

Wu closes his eyes. For a moment, Garmadon thinks he's fallen asleep again, but no – he's just pretending. He's about to say something when Lloyd sighs.

"I'm going outside," he says. "My cell reception's acting up, and I want to call Kai. I'll be back in a bit."

Once Lloyd is gone, Wu opens his eyes again. "Garmadon," he says, "Misako, I… I need to tell you something."

Garmadon nods and says nothing. No judgement, not before he knows what's so bad it can't be said in front of Lloyd.

"When Acronix and I fought," Wu says, "after the timeblade fell, she… used her powers on me. My body is rapidly aging. I…" His voice shakes. "I am dying."

Misako gasps. Garmadon, still, says nothing.

"I don't know how long I have left," Wu continues. "But… the ninja have enough to worry about. I only hope I can last until the Hands of Time are dealt with."

"I understand, brother," Garmadon says. "If that's what you wish… I will not tell my son."

Wu's eyes fall on him. "Garmadon, if I may… I have a request."

A final request, Garmadon thinks. "Anything."

Wu looks away. "I wish to speak to Morro," he says. "I… I can't die knowing he hates me. He was my student for so long. He was my son for so long… and I failed him. I must make it right between us. I owe him that."

Garmadon hesitates for a long moment. "I can't promise it will go the way you want," he finally says, "but I will bring him here, and if nothing else, you may say your goodbyes."

"Thank you, brother," Wu says, and he closes his eyes again. By the time Lloyd comes back, he's drifted into sleep.

* * *

"Kid, where are you going?"

Morro looks back with one hand on the doorknob. "Out," he says.

Ronin raises an eyebrow. "Really? A couple hours ago, you were too depressed to move, and now you're going out?"

"I'm coping."

"Kid, your coping mechanisms are elaborate revenge schemes, hurting a bunch of people, and literally dying."

Running isn't a good idea, Morro thinks. He'd risk overexerting himself. Then again, the doctor had said some exercise was fine, recommended, even, so maybe…

"Skylor called me," he says instead. "She wants to meet up."

"Any reason she can't meet up here?"

"'Cause you're an asshole," Morro says, and he pushes the door open. "Bye."

Just as he steps outside, he hesitates. Yesterday, Ronin's cursed soul had seemed like the most urgent problem facing him, but now, all Morro can think of is his dad. "Sorry," he says. "I'll be back in a bit. Tonight, maybe."

Ronin snorts. "Sure, sure. You stay safe, kid."

"You too," says Morro, the words awkward in his mouth.

He closes the door and stands there, looking around. It's the end of fall, and his breath is fogging in the air. Morro swallows hard and wraps his arms around himself before trudging down the street.

He's not going back to the pawn shop tonight.


	7. this flesh isn't right, the fit is too tight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY WELCOME BACK AFTER A LONG HIATUS
> 
> I fixed the problems I was having with the outline, so not only will there be more updates, but it's gonna start to diverge from canon wayyyyy more starting… the next chapter, probably! I don't want to follow all the same beats as canon season seven, so I'm really happy to start changing it up.
> 
> enjoy chapter

**Chapter Seven**

circling round heavenward bound,  
a hundred and forty four thousand  
 **this flesh isn’t right, the fit is too tight  
** this can’t be our permanent housing

[Amanda Palmer & Jason Webley – House of Eternal Return](https://amandapalmer.bandcamp.com/track/house-of-eternal-return)

"The Vermillion are, ah, helping the builders get settled in," Acronix says, walking into the cramped room. "I haven't heard from the two you put in charge, Krux, but – whoa!"

She ducks a thrown chunk of metal and it hits the wall behind her with a _BANG._ "That almost hit me!" she exclaims. "You have some arm, Cyrus Borg!"

"I damn well do!" Cyrus glares at her and slams his fist on the table, rattling the objects on top of it. "I demand you release me! If you don't –"

"We will release you once you build the machine!" Krux glares right back, having dropped the persona Cyrus previously knew him as. "You have your materials –"

Without the goofy accent, the man who called himself Sander Saunders is much more intimidating, but Cyrus bites back his fear. "What, this?" he says, gesturing to the assortment of metal around him. "Garbage, all of it!"

"You have your tools –"

"Useless, primitive objects!" Cyrus picks up what might be a wrench and goes to throw it. Krux grabs his wrist to stop him, and the physical contact is enough to make him go stiff.

"They are perfectly functional," Krux snarls. "The longer you put up a fight, the longer we have to keep you here, remember? You have that family you created for yourself, don't you?"

Cyrus grits his teeth and pulls his arm away. "I don't appreciate your tone, _Saunders._ "

"I told you, my name is Krux!"

"That certainly wasn't what you told me some, what, fifteen years prior?"

"You know each other?" Acronix says, and she gives them a shaky smile. "That's great! Where did you meet?"

Cyrus stares at her with his mouth hanging open, and her smile falters. Krux rolls his eyes. "He was one of my students during my time as a professor, that's all."

"You were awful," Cyrus says. "And you still are! You kidnapped me!"

"We've already established that." Krux stands up and turns away. "Acronix, keep an eye on him. I'm going to fetch the generals."

He leaves the room. Cyrus' heart pounds like it's going to burst out of his chest. He takes a few deep breaths and tries to calm himself, suppressing the fear that threatens to overwhelm him. He hasn't been harmed – yet – and he knows the ninja will come to rescue him. He just has to hold out until then.

Acronix coughs.

"So," she says, "you're, uh… an inventor, right?"

Cyrus swallows hard. "You could say that," he says carefully. "I'm sure Saunders told you all about me." And not in a flattering way, he thinks, recalling a number of comments by the man back in college that ultimately got him fired.

"No, actually," says Acronix. "I know you're in charge of Borg Industries, but it's difficult to grasp what that is. This future…" She waves her hands in front of her. "It's incredible! Everything goes so fast, with so much information… I don't know if I'll ever get used to it."

A few weeks ago, Cyrus had taken Morro out to the mall, where the teenager had stared at an array of screens for a good thirty seconds and ran to throw up in the restroom. "It's so noisy," Morro said. "There's so much happening at once, too fast… I don't think I'll ever get used to this future."

Is he ever going to see Morro and Pixal again?"

"Are you alright?"

Cyrus wants to snap at her, but he can't summon the will to speak. He picks up one of the tools and toys with it while Acronix watches him.

She attempts a smile. "I noticed your room didn't, ah, have much in it," she says. "I know you don't want to be here, but my brother and I have no ill will towards you. Is there anything we can get to make your stay more… comfortable?"

Cyrus stares at her. Anything he asks for can be used against him, to bribe or threaten or manipulate him, and he refuses to give either of the Hands of Time any ammo. He says nothing.

"Okay," Acronix says. "Well –"

"Acronix, what are you doing?"

Krux returns through the door, followed by another of the Vermillion Warriors, this one made up of red snakes. Cyrus can't help but cringe when they lay eyes on him. _Damn_ it, what happened to the fury he had just moments before?

"Talking," Acronix says. "Who's that with you?"

"This is Machia," Krux says. "I've ordered her to, ah, convince Borg to do his work."

"Excuse me?" Cyrus squeaks.

Krux gestures to Machia. "Well? Get on with it."

"With pleasure," Machia hisses, and she climbs over the table. Cyrus pushes himself backwards, bumps into the wall, and keeps pushing on his wheels, leaning as far back as he can manage. Machia's body flows off the table in a disgustingly liquid motion and approaches him.

She runs a hand across his cheek. "Krux said you have children," she says. "You want them safe, don't you?"

Cyrus tries to turn his face away. Machia grabs his chin and forces him to meet her eyes.

"The longer you stay here, the more likely your children will come for you," she says. "If you do everything our masters say, you will return to them once the machine is completed. If you don't finish before they arrive… do you think they can defeat us?"

They can't.

The realization cuts through Cyrus' show of anger and pierces his heart. Morro, Pixal, and even Zane tried to protect him, and they all failed. Even if they make it here, even with the rest of the ninja on their side, how will they fare against Acronix, Krux, and an army of Vermillion Warriors?

Machia releases him. "Get to work," she says.

Cyrus forces himself to the table. He's still holding the tool he picked up. His mind is already working to determine what he'll need, the beginnings of blueprints taking form. He takes a pencil and a sheet of paper and begins to sketch.

"Good!" Krux says. "Machia, watch him. Acronix, come with me."

He doesn't look at Acronix or Krux as they leave the room. Left alone with Machia, Cyrus works in silence.

* * *

"We need a plan!" Lloyd snaps. "We can't go running out there and beating people up!"

"They're not people, they're a bunch of snakes in a trench coat!" Jay throws his hands in the air. "And I want to fight someone!"

His shout echoes through the chilly air. Kai wouldn't be surprised if the people on the ground heard him, but Garmadon said sound didn't carry far down from their new floating base. Mostly, he wishes they would shut up so he could concentrate.

"Yeah!" Cole says loudly. "Kai already failed at the museum, so we gotta act now before the Hands of Time act first! Right?"

"Yeah," Kai says, staring at the helmet in his hands.

Cole frowns. "Uh, Kai? I was trying to insult you there."

Kai doesn't look up. "What?"

"I agree with Lloyd," Skylor says, jumping down from the rock she was sitting on and walking to the rest of the group. "Zane's out of commission, and Nya's busy rebooting him… we can't rush into things without taking some time to think it over." She smiles. "And lucky for us, we have a lot of time."

"What?" Lloyd says. "But at the museum –"

Skylor smiles and disappears.

The next moment, she reappears next to Lloyd on the steps of the temple. Lloyd jumps at the sudden presence beside him. "You stole the elemental power of time?!" he exclaims.

"Ah-ah-ah. Copied, not stolen." Skylor shakes her hand out. "I'm still figuring it out, but it looks like if I touch a timeblade, I get the power stored inside it. So at least we're evenly matched." She frowns. "But Krux knew I was the Master of Amber, so we don't have anything they don't know about."

"So what now?" Jay asks.

"We kick some butt!" Cole shouts.

"No," Lloyd says, "we need to take the information we have and figure out the right course of action." He glares at them. "While Sensei Wu is recovering, I'm in charge, alright? Let's get inside."

Jay and Cole groan and follow Lloyd. Kai doesn't move until Skylor gently elbows him. "Hey, Kai? You alright?"

Kai sighs. "Skylor," he says, "did you always think your father was evil?"

"What the hell, Kai?" Skylor says immediately. Then, "Sorry, I just – that's a weird question to spring on me, you know? Why do you ask?"

"I thought…" Kai hisses air through his teeth. "Never mind, it was a stupid question. I'm not… I don't know. Forget I said anything."

"Alright," Skylor says. "If you say so."

They meet Jay, Cole, and Lloyd in the entryway, where the ninja stand in silence. "What's going –" Skylor starts before Jay shushes her.

Misako's voice carries from a few rooms over. "I'm not going to stand by and let you put yourself in danger!" Misako shouts. "There have been reports of kidnappings all over the city, and if you think –"

"Wu gave me a request," Garmadon says, his voice low and dangerous, "and I intend to fulfill it."

"And how will you fulfill it if those horrible snake things capture you?"

"You know _damn_ well I can take care of myself."

Kai looks up from his helmet in time to see Lloyd flinch. "Garmadon _never_ swears," he says. "What's going on?"

"Hey!" Jay yells, loud enough that Cole covers his ears. "We're back from training! You can stop shouting at each other now!"

Misako and Garmadon fall silent. They here Garmadon's cane tapping on the floor, and the man himself comes into view from the next room over. "Lloyd," he says, the anger gone from his voice, "I'm sorry you had to hear that."

"What's going on?" Lloyd's voice shakes. "You – you never fought like this before. What's wrong?"

Misako follows Garmadon out. "Your father wants to go to Ninjago City," she says. "I told him –"

"It's not about that," Garmadon says. "Lloyd, you deserve to know the truth."

"The truth? About what?"

Misako looked away. Garmadon hesitated for a long moment before he spoke. "Lloyd, your mother and I are… separating."

Lloyd looks back and forth from his mother to his father. "Okay," he says. "Why?"

"It's not anything you did, Lloyd, I promise," Misako says. "We're just… not…"

"We don't love each other anymore," Garmadon says.

Misako shoots a glare at him. "I wouldn't say it in those words, Garmadon."

"Oh," Lloyd says. "That makes sense."

Garmadon blinks. "I'm… sorry?"

Lloyd shrugs. "Don't be. It's fine if you don't love each other. You shouldn't be forced to stay together just because of me."

He turns back to the rest of the ninja, ignoring his parents staring at him with their mouths hanging open. "We need to make a plan," he says. "Everyone, sit down. We can't afford to mess this up."

"Uh," Jay says.

"Shouldn't we wait for Zane and Nya?" says Cole.

"We can fill them in once they're back," Lloyd says. "Skylor, I won't like, force you, but if you could help us…"

"Oh, definitely," Skylor says. "At this point, this is my fight, too."

Lloyd grins at her. "Great! Come on, let's get started!"

* * *

Nya groans and slumps face-down on her desk. After Skylor and Kai confronted Krux, she was left alone to try and reboot zane – and three reboots later, he was still unconscious. If not for the quiet thrum of activity the Samurai X computers were monitoring, she would think he was –

She doesn't let herself finish the thought. Nya takes a deep breath and stands up.

"Okay," she says, turning to Zane's motionless body. "We're going to try this again."

She adjusts the settings and reboots him again. It takes a few minutes for the operation to complete, and when it's over, nothing appears to change. Nya waits another ten seconds before letting out a sigh and turning back to the computer.

A sudden noise startles her and she whirls back around. Zane is sitting up straight, staring at her.

"Nya!" he says, unplugging himself and jumping down from the table.

"Zane!" Nya exclaims. "I'm so glad you're –"

Zane grins. "The potato was a flange," he says. "Forty-one, eight two three."

Nya's smile disappears. "Uh, Zane?"

"A narwhal horn is to red as weather is greater than pudding," Zane is still smiling while he walks straight towards the edge of the platform. Nya rushes to turn him around before he can fall. "Fifty sheet auto doc feeder!" he tells her enthusiastically.

"Oh, no," Nya says. "Zane, I think I've made things worse,"

* * *

"You haven't made things worse," Pixal tries to tell her, but what comes out of Zane's mouth is, "Banana curtain nine." Pixal groans. Zane chirps.

She tries again. "Now that we're conscious, I just need to unscramble Zane's neural pathways so we can rescue my father," Pixal says while Nya digs through her toolbox. "What you need to do is realign Zane's neural inputs so we can communicate. I highly doubt anything you have in there is delicate enough for the task."

Nya, of course, understands nothing of this. "There's got to be something I haven't tried," she mumbles to herself.

"Realign Zane's neural inputs!"

"I don't want to mess inside your head, buddy, but if you have aphasia…"

"Yes!" Pixal shouts. "You have to get inside his head and realign –"

"No," Nya says firmly. "That's a last resort. I bet you need a new binary power core!"

"That is _not_ what he needs! We can't waste time, my father could be hurt or worse! Don't leave!"

Even though they're unable to communicate, Zane seems to understand the desperation in Pixal's voice. He shouts gibberish after Nya as she runs out the door, then sits down on the table with a sigh.

"Ninety-two hat flower," he says.

"Me too, Zane," Pixal says. "Me too."

When heavy footsteps sound down the hall, Zane perks up. At first, Pixal thinks it's the ninja – but no, there are too many of them, and the ninja would be chatting amongst themselves, not marching in silence.

Her fears are confirmed when armored red and orange samurai advance towards them.

"Zane, you need to fight them!" Pixal says, but poor Zane still can't understand her. He flails helplessly as the snake creatures grab him – are his motor controls malfunctioning, too? – and Pixal quickly changes tactics and starts making as much noise as she can.

Nya hears the commotion and runs back into the room. "Get off my friend!" she yells, and she tackles the nearest samurai and throws them to the ground. Pixal quickly realizes there's too many of them for Nya to fight on her own, and runs through all the options she can come up with. There aren't many, and as time elapses, they're dwindling. She needs Zane to be conscious so he can rescue Cyrus Borg. She needs to be able to communicate with him. She's dependant on him, and with Zane clocked out, there's nothing she can do.

Pixal makes her decision.

"Zane, I'm rerouting all available electrical power to your chest in three… two… one…"

* * *

Her hair standing on end from the electrical discharge, Nya collects herself enough to catch Zane before he falls. "Total electrical overload," she says, staring at his half-shuttered eyes. "Of course, now I need to reboot you again, but you stopped them from stealing anything important, like, uh –" Her eyes flick around the room. "– you, or…"

_Her Samurai X armor is missing._

"Never mind!" she shouts. "They stole my armor! Come on, Zane, I'll reboot you on the way – those snakes aren't getting away with this!"


End file.
